


Choices

by hunters_retreat



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Androids, F/M, Future Fic, M/M, On the Run, Sentient Androids, Slavery, Torture, mentions of past rape, past non-con/dub-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 02:51:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5989495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen Ackles was a man on the run.  Sure, his name was revered by the Sentient Android Rights Movement, but he was just another face in a sea of J-N_S56s.  He had won his freedom in a court of law, but his previous Mistress and Master cared little for the law.  Jensen had been on the run for almost ten years and he'd stayed free because he was smart and kept to himself.</p><p>When Jensen met Jared, he tossed him out the door as soon as he could.  Jared wasn't pushed away so easily though.  Jared came back but unfortunately, so did Jensen's former mistress.  On the run with Jared at his side, Jensen struggles with his emotions, and the fear that his programming might be taking over.  Jared is far more tempting than anything Jensen has ever faced.  How can he keep them both safe when he's fighting with himself while on the run from the people who want to put him back in a gilded cage?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choices

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [【翻译】Choices/抉择](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6663031) by [LittleEvil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleEvil/pseuds/LittleEvil), [WincestJ2CN](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WincestJ2CN/pseuds/WincestJ2CN)



> Just wanted to say a quick note to the mods at the [](http://spn-reversebang.livejournal.com/profile)[spn_reversebang](http://spn-reversebang.livejournal.com/) for this amazing challenge!  And also to say thank you to my amazing artist, [](http://liliaeth.livejournal.com/profile)[liliaeth](http://liliaeth.livejournal.com/).  I was half way through the story when she did a second piece of art that inspired me to write a much longer story :P  I hope the story does her art justice!  Please go visit her post and give her the love she deserves! Enjoy!

 

     

 

 

“What do you want?”  
  
The guy outside the door looked friendly enough but Jensen knew better than to judge by appearances.  He was a stranger and Jensen wasn’t expecting anyone to come by today.  The Bureau of AI Affairs had sent their rep in last week.  There was no reason for anyone to show up at his door today.  
  
But here he was.  
  
“Uh, delivery, for Jensen Ackles?”  
  
“Delivery of what?”  
  
“I was told discretion was the better part of-“  
  
Jensen opened the door because if there was a reason for discretion he had a good idea what was in the box the guy was holding.  
“Come on in.”  
  
The guy took a few steps in and Jensen could tell the box was heavy.  It explained why the delivery guy was built like a truck.  Strong arms and legs, wide shoulders that Jensen could hold onto for days and just –  
  
He shook his head.  Some days the programming was harder to overcome.  Some days, it wasn’t the programming.  The biggest problem was that Jensen didn’t always know which it was; programming or his own preferences.  This guy was right up Jensen’s alley with long dark locks and a curious light in his eyes.   
  
“Thanks,” the guy said as Jensen set the box on the bed.  There wasn’t much else in his apartment.  It was just two rooms – that included the bathroom – and it had seen better days.  The carpeting on the floor was bare, had been threadbare for years before Jensen moved in.  The bed was a simple iron frame, nice and sturdy, but small and workable.  Nothing fancy like he used to have.  Before.  
  
The wood table might not support the weight of the box and Jensen was already looking to replace it after the incident last week.  
Jensen started to open the box when he realized the guy was still there.  He looked Jensen over and waited.  There were two types of guys who came to deliver to him; those that didn’t know and those that wanted him to ‘pay’ them for the delivery or ‘tip’ them or whatever the hell they thought they deserved.  
  
No matter how long it had been, Jensen was still just an android and everyone knew what the J-N_S56 model had been made for.  
  
“What do you want?” Jensen demanded when the guy didn’t say anything.  
  
“I was just waiting to see if it was all there,” the guy said with a smile.  “You wanna finish checking?”  
  
“Look, this isn’t going to happen,” Jensen said through gritted teeth.  “I don’t care what your buddies at the warehouse or office told you.  I don’t do repayment.  I am not going to blow you or let you fuck me or anything else, so get the hell out.”  
  
“I don’t think you understand,” the guy said softly.  “I’m not a delivery boy.  I’m the specialist from Rockbell Robotics.  I’m supposed to make sure you have all the parts you need and make sure that you don’t need help installing anything.”  
  
Jensen sat up a little taller with his words.  It didn’t mean the guy wasn’t still a threat, but it was far less likely.  
  
“Alright, just … stay over there while I look it over.  I don’t need help with upgrades though.  I’m quite capable of healing myself.”  
  
“Yeah, well, everyone needs a helping hand every now and then, right?”  
  
“You wash my back, I wash yours?”  
  
“Yeah, exactly.  No, wait.  No, that wasn’t…  I wasn’t trying to imply anything.  I’m sorry, I forgot what your model was programmed for or I’d have chosen different words.  I just meant there are some implants that are harder to fix on your own.   I was told there was an incident last week and you might have been broken.”  
  
“Injured.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I’m not a fucking robot.  I don’t break.  I am a sentient being with my own thoughts and feelings.  I was injured.  By the last guy who came to deliver parts, I might add, because I wouldn’t let him fuck me to repay him for his trouble.”  
  
The guy’s eyes went wide in surprise but he just nodded and looked down at the floor.  Jensen took a deep breath and started to catalogue the box.  It was everything the guy had broken last time and Jensen let out a deep breath.  He’d already fixed himself up but he liked to have the spare parts close at hand.  If anyone on the streets saw him wounded he wouldn’t likely survive it.  He’d be dragged off and stuffed in some hole in the wall, and he’d never see light of day again.  
  
Jensen had worked hard to stay out of a cage, no matter what lined the bars, and he didn’t plan to get sloppy now.  Especially now that parts were getting harder to come by.  
  
“I wasn’t aware of the actual circumstances.  Do you need assistance?”  
  
“No, what I need is peace and quiet.”  
  
The guy nodded and took a step back.  He pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans and he moved slowly to the table and dropped a business card there.  
  
“My name is Jared.  If you need anything else, call me.  I’ll make sure you get the parts.  No hassle.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
Jared looked taken back by the question but he answered immediately.  “Because no one should have to deal with that level of harassment to get their basic needs met.  My job is to help you.”  
  
Jensen was still suspicious.  “Whatever.”  
  
Jared walked to the door and stopped as he opened it to look back at Jensen.  
  
“It was good to put a face to the name.  You’re the only S56 I’ve met who chose to age instead of reintegrate and renew.  You’re not what I expected.”  
  
“What did you expect?”  
  
Jared looked down and honest to god blushed.  “Some things are made to stay young forever.  There’s no planning to keep them around for decades.  The JN-S56 was one of those but … you’re gorgeous.  I thought you’d look old, wrinkled or something.  They didn’t design your model to age well but you look better now than you did off the factory line.”  
  
Jensen didn’t expect those words out of his mouth.  
  
“And no, that wasn’t me hitting on you.  I’m just speaking design,” he said with his hands up.  
  
“Get out,” Jensen snapped.  He didn’t know what the guy wanted and if he didn’t need to help him and he wasn’t there to fuck him then Jensen just wanted him gone.  
  
“Yeah, okay.  Just call me if you need anything.  Like I said, I’ll take care of you.  It was … um … nice to meet you Mr. Ackles.”  
  
The door closed behind him and Jensen just stared at it for a few minutes.  Mr. Ackles?  No one gave him a title unless they mistook him for a human.  He shook his head of the thought and continued to sort through the box of parts and tools.  
  
When he had them put away he made a quick dinner in the small kitchenette and drowned out his thoughts with brain-numbing television.  It never really worked but he could devote most of his thought process to the plot and characters and leave less of it to dwell on the strange delivery man.  
  
  
**     
  
“What do you mean no, 56?  You don’t get to say no.”  
  
Jensen was too tired to say anything to that.  As often as he ran into trouble on the streets it was safer there than anywhere else.  He knew if he walked two blocks over there was a younger version of himself working the corner.  Too many sentient androids had returned to their programming because they didn’t know another way.  Jensen refused.  Jensen had lived in a cage and he refused to return to one, gilded or no.  
  
Jensen walked away from the three men that called out to him.  Some days people threw out offers for him.  Other days, things got rough.  Jensen had learned to take care of himself though, ironically at the wish of his former mistress and master.  He’d never backed down from a fight, even after he lost a few.  Especially after he’d lost a few.  
  
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he realized it was going to be one of the rough days.  
  
“I said I need a little assistance.”  
  
Jensen turned to look at the man who still had a grip on his shoulder.  “Just let me be.  I don’t want any trouble.”  
  
“But I want something and you’re going to give it to me.”  
  
The guy pushed him down but as Jensen fell heavily on his knees, he swiped out with his arm and caught the man at the joint and forced his legs to buckle.  Jensen sprung back up to his feet and kicked out when the guy’s friend came running at him.  Arms caught him around the back and Jensen was held tight as the first guy came swinging at him again.  He used the man behind him and he jumped up to kick the first man in the chest.  He fell back the same as Jensen and the man holding him.  Jensen landed on top of the guy behind him and his grasp broke.   Jensen pulled his elbow back and hit the guy in the face and he stilled.  
  
When Jensen got up he saw that the first man had hit his head on a stone and he hadn’t moved.  The guy who stood before Jensen raised his hands and backed away as Jensen steadied himself.  He didn’t turn his back on him until he was out of the alley and then he walked quickly into the mass of people that walked along the busy walkway.  
  
“God damn it,” he cursed as he felt his knee buckle slightly.  He’d damaged it three weeks ago in a similar scene but not enough to need replacement.  Now it looked like he’d need to replace it. He hated the necessity but he couldn’t be weak.  Too many people thought they could take what they wanted from him.  Too many of his kind let them.  
  
Jensen didn’t understand why any sentient android would continue to use their bodies once they’d been freed from their original programming.  Some had become playthings to people who could continue to give them the life they’d been accustomed to living.  Some sold themselves; on the streets or to higher class establishments.  Jensen had even heard of some who had gone back to living in cages, where they continued to suffer the abuses they had been subjected to before their freedom.   
  
Jensen wanted nothing to do with it.  The J-N_S56 had been freed when it was proven their AI programming had gone beyond its intended abilities.  The S56 series, along with the S57, S58, and S59 had all become truly sentient beings.  Jensen had to fight against his programming sometimes, but most of the time it was simply background noise to him.  He knew not everyone had to live through what he had, but no matter how pampered any of them had been, he couldn’t understand continuing to live the life of a pet.  
  
It was why Jensen lived on the streets and moved around as frequently as he did.  He made do with what he had, never touched his bank account in case his former mistress and master decided to look for him, and he kept his head down and out of trouble.  His one and only concession was his contact with the government agencies that promised confidentiality when he called for parts and services.  He kept his calls to the Department of AI Affairs as limited as he could, just in case.  He hated to be paranoid but he couldn’t help but feel that he’d stayed free as long as he had because of it.  
  
Ten years on his own and Jensen enjoyed every moment, even if he was struggling to get by.  It was his life, his choices, and no one told him what to do or made him do what he didn’t want.  Not anymore.  
  
Jensen Ackles wasn’t an android, bought and sold to the rich as a bedroom toy.  He was his own creature.  Ten years ago he’d sued his owners and won his freedom, as well as the freedom of the others like him.  He had a fat bank account to prove it, even if he never dared to touch it.  
  
He made it home without further incident.  He stumbled up the stairs a few times but it was just the bum knee and Jensen was certain he had the replacements parts already.  Once he got inside the apartment, Jensen called and left a message for the service rep from Rockbell Robotics.  He wasn’t sure how quickly he’d get the parts.  They were supposed to arrive within 24 hours, but Jensen had never been so lucky, not unless the agent thought he was getting something in return.  Jensen thought back on his encounter with the new guy and thought he just might be on the up and up.  Maybe he’d get the parts as quickly as he was supposed to without the trouble.  
  
There was always a first time for everything.  
  
  
**  
  
Jensen was half way through the repair when he heard pounding at his door.  He stared down at the open panel on his knee and shook his head.  He didn’t need trouble right now.  He ignored the door and took up his tools again to complete the surgery.  
  
“Mr. Ackles?”  
  
Jensen looked at the door in surprise.  He knew the voice.  He looked down at his boxers and thought about putting his pants on but it was too much effort.  He set the tools aside and hobbled to the door and threw it back.  “That was quick,” he said as Jared smiled at him from the other side of the door.  
  
Jared held the box up, like Jensen wouldn’t know what he was doing there.  “24 hours, right?  I prefer to be a little more reliable than that. Are you okay?”  
  
“Just a fight, nothing to worry about,” Jensen said as he shuffled back to his chair.  
  
Jared set the box down inside the door then closed it behind him.  Jensen grabbed the tools he’s been working with and tried to ignore him.  
  
“You should let me help you.”  
  
“Why?” Jensen asked.  
  
“Because it’s my job, and because no one should have to try to treat their own injuries.”  
  
Jensen wanted to say no, but the fact that Jared remembered what he’d said about his injuries the last time made him stop and look at the man.  Jensen was programmed to read people’s emotions and there was only concern in Jared’s eyes.  Jensen held the tools out and waited as Jared took them.  
  
“How did this happen?” Jared asked as he began to solder the wiring.  
  
“Got into a fight last week and someone kicked me in the knee.  Earlier today, I got knocked to my knees and put more pressure on it than it could handle,” Jensen answered.  
  
“Thought you needed replacement parts but it looks like you already had them on hand.”  
  
“I always keep spares.  I survive on the streets because I can fight.  If I get hurt, I need to be able to patch myself up quick.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Jared said as he worked on Jensen’s knee.  His hands were steady and he didn’t look up at Jensen as he spoke, though Jensen could hear the sincerity in his voice.  
  
“What are you sorry for?”  
  
“That this happens to you.  I’ve seen stories, heard what some of the other Freed Ones have done to make themselves safe.”  
  
“We all do what we have to,” Jensen said quietly.  He might not understand the others but he didn’t feel like he could condemn them either.  No matter what life they’d lived before their freedom was granted, none of them would have had an easy time with the adjustment.  They won their freedom, but the support services they had now weren’t set in place back then.  Too many of them had wandered, homeless and hungry, only to go back to the hands that had fed them before.  They had no other choice.  
  
“Yeah.  I’m just glad I was able to get you the parts you need.  It’s not always so easy anymore.”  
  
“Parts getting hard to find?”  
  
Jared shook his head.  “Not so hard to find as they’re just getting expensive.  Apparently since you’re now a sentient being, they’re charging the same prices for replacement parts as they do for replacement organs.  Every time we have to answer a request for additional parts we’re forced to spend days in paperwork to justify the cost.”  
  
“Sorry to make you deal with paperwork,” Jensen said with a small smile.  
  
Jared looked up at him and laughed.  “Yeah, it’s murder.  The papercuts alone will kill you.”  
  
Jared finished with the repairs much quicker than Jensen could have and he couldn’t help but admire the strong, capable hands on the man as he sealed the physioplast over the metal framework.  It melded into the edges and he watched as the fake skin healed.  
  
Jensen stood up and looked at Jared, still on his knees before him.  He pushed away from him before thoughts could fill his head and he reached for the pants he’d left on the bed.  He slid them on quickly and looked back at Jared.  
  
Jared gave him a small smile.  “Want to check the box?  Make sure I got everything you need?”  
  
Jensen looked at him and shook his head.  “Why are you doing this?”  
  
“It’s my job?”  
  
“No, that’s not it.”  
  
Jared stared at him for a moment and let out a deep breath.  “I had a friend in college.  Tam was an S58.  It wasn’t the same as what you’ve gone through I’m sure.  The S58s were made for manual labor.  He wanted to be something more but there was a lot of prejudice against him when he tried to go into higher learning.”  
  
“What happened to him?” Jensen asked.  
  
Before he could answer, there was a knock at the door.  Jensen looked over at Jared and the man shook his head.  Jensen didn’t know who it was but he didn’t like it at all.  He hated surprises and two surprise visitors at one time made him twitchy.  He pushed Jared into the bathroom and raised his fingers to his lips to silence him.  
  
He kicked his leg a bit to make sure his knee was properly healed.  Jared had done a fine job of it though and there wasn’t even the usual stiffness he felt when he did the work himself.  Jared had a soothing hand.  
  
The knock came again and Jensen shoved the box under the bed so no one would see the replacement parts.  He went to the door and opened it.  “What?” he demanded as he threw it back.  
  
He nearly tripped over his own feet as he backed away from the door.  
  
She stepped into his apartment with all the grace of a queen.  She wore all black.  In all the years he’d known her, he’d never seen her in anything else.  Her dress was cut just below the knee with a front cut low enough to show her cleavage to her advantage.  Her coat was calf length, expensive cut and hand embroidered he was certain.  Her heels clicked as she walked around the room.  She pulled black gloves off her hands and shook her head as brown eyes assessed the room.  Mahogany hair spilled over her shoulders and as she let out a deep sigh.  
  
“This is certainly not where I would have expected to find you,” she said softly.  “With all your talent I would have expected you to be living in some degree of luxury.  You have such a talented tongue after all.”  
  
Jensen wanted to say something witty but nothing would come.  The last time he’d seen her she’d locked him in his cage.  He had hung from a gilded cage in her bedroom like some kind of exotic bird.  He’d escaped but he’d never stopped looking over his shoulder for her.  As much as her husband had used him, she had always been the one who used him worst.  
  
“And who do you have hiding in here with you today?  A new boytoy?  A client maybe?”  
  
“There’s no one here,” Jensen managed to say.  
  
“Oh, sweet pet, do you think I haven’t been watching you?  I know he came in before me.  Where is he?”  
  
He moved to intercept her but there was only one door to open and she smiled in at Jared before he could stop her.        
  
“Oh, he is a pretty one, pet.  I could see why you’d want him.  Have you had a chance to taste him yet, sweetling?” she asked Jared.  “He is so very good.  He should be.  He cost me a fortune.”  
  
Jared didn’t say anything but he walked out of the bathroom and stood behind Jensen.  Jensen had no idea what Jared thought of his mistress, but he appreciated the show of support none the less.  
  
“What do you want, Ms. Harris?” Jensen asked.  
  
“Now, now, pet, that isn’t how you address me,” she said with a smirk.  “You call me Mistress.”  
  
“You don’t own me.”  
  
“Oh, but I do.  You were the best investment I ever made.  I think you sealed more deals for me than any words my husband and I ever said.”  
  
Jensen’s hands clenched but he felt Jared’s hand on his shoulder.  “You don’t own him anymore.  In fact, it’s been illegal to own a sentient android for more than nine years now.  This is harassment and is actionable by law.”  
  
Ms. Harris laughed and it sent a shiver down Jensen’s spine.  “Oh, he is feisty, your boytoy.  A shame I didn’t realize.  I would have brought enough people to take him too.”  
  
“Leave him alone,” Jensen demanded.  He’d never spoke to her like that before and her eyes widened in surprise.  
  
“We have some training to do, it seems.  You’ve quite forgotten your place.”  
  
He saw her reach into her purse.  He saw the gun in her hands and he pushed Jared back onto the bed.  He wanted to scream as the pain ripped through his shoulder but he ignored it instead and pulled the gun from her hands.  She didn’t expect him to move once he was shot so the gun came easily from her grasp.  He gripped it tightly and hit her over the head with it and she crumpled to the ground, unmoving.  
  
“Jensen!”  
  
Jensen turned away from his former mistress and looked back at Jared.  His eyes were wide and he stared at Jensen’s shoulder.  Jared scrambled out of the bed and tried to get to Jensen’s shoulder but Jensen knocked his hands away.  
  
“I’m okay, Jared.  I’ll be fine.”  
  
“I need to look at that.”  
  
Jensen ignored him as he grabbed a bag from his closet.  His left arm didn’t work well but he still had some use out of it.  Thankfully he always had a bag of clothes packed.  There was cash hidden inside as well as a couple fake ids.  He grabbed a second bag and filled it with water bottles and whatever food he had in hand.  
  
“Jensen, please, I need to take a look at your shoulder.”  
  
“Not now Jared.  I have to get away.  Her goons won’t wait long before they come up looking for her.  I have to run.”  He grabbed a third bag out from under his bed and then pulled the box of parts out and began to dump them into the bag with the other spare parts he had.  
  
“I’ll come with you then.”  
  
“Jared,” Jensen stopped to look at him.  “You can’t.  She already got too good a look at you.  You need to get as far away from me as you can.”  
  
“No.  You’re injured.”  
  
“I’m broken,” Jensen said harshly.  “I’m a machine.  I can fix myself when it’s safe.”  
  
“Fine.”  
  
“Fine?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m not going to fight you on it.”  
  
Jensen looked at him for a moment but that was all the time he had to spare.  He pulled on a clean hoodie to hide the wound from anyone else and pulled on a baseball cap.  It wasn’t much but it might give him some time.  
  
“I’m going to go to the basement.  This building has a laundry mat down there that is shared with the next building over.  There is a stair that connects the two.  I’ll head out that way.  Hopefully that will throw off whoever was watching my place.”  
  
“And what am I supposed to do?”  
  
“Go out the front.  No one but Ms. Harris knows that you came to see me yet.  You’ll just be someone else walking out of the building.”  
  
“Alright,” Jared said as Jensen passed by to the bathroom.  There were a few things he kept in there, a gun in case of trouble and more cash.  
  
“I’ll see you down on the street,” Jared called out from the other room.  
  
Jensen walked out of the bathroom, “Jared, you can’t.”  
  
Jared was gone though.  So were the bags with Jensen’s money and id’s, and the bag with his spare parts.  “God damn it,” Jensen wanted to yell and rant at Jared for taking his stuff but he was out of time.  He grabbed the third bag, stuffed the rest of his things in it and headed for the door.  
  
He ran down the stairs - thank god Jared had fixed his knee before all this happened - and made his way down to the laundry room.  There was no one there and Jensen was only too happy to get through without any friendly neighbors trying to chat him up.  
  
He made it to the street without any trouble and Jared was there on the corner with a smile on his face.  “You made it,” he said with fake excitement.  “I thought I was going to have to start our road trip without you.”  
  
“I’m going to kill you when we get to the site.”  
  
Jared smiled as he led Jensen down the next street.  He opened the door to a car and threw the bags in the back.  When Jensen got in, Jared looked at him.  “Where to?”  
  
“They’ll figure out who you are quick enough.  We can’t drive too far in your car or they’ll just track me through you.”  
  
“Yeah, I figured that out.  So, where to?”  
  
Jensen let out a deep breath.  He didn’t want to do this but he didn’t have a choice really.  Jared wasn’t going to let him go, and if he was honest with himself, he’d need the help to fix his shoulder properly.  
  
“Fine.  I know a place.  Just get us out of the city and I’ll tell you where to go from there.”  
  
Jared started the car and Jensen watched to see if anyone was following them.  He couldn’t see anyone and Jensen started to relax a little.

 

**

 

It was past midnight when Jensen ordered Jared to pull into a motel.  They’d stopped twice during the day; once to take a car from a long term parking lot and the second at a gas station to fuel up and so that Jared could take a look at Jensen’s shoulder.  The guy wouldn’t stop asking about it and Jensen realized he wouldn’t until he’d gotten a good look himself.  He wasn’t happy to leave it damaged but Jensen had been adamant.  He had to get them further away before they stopped for long enough to replace the parts.  
  
Jared had been silent as they drove and Jensen wanted nothing more than to trust the man and fall asleep in the passenger seat but he hadn’t been able to get rid of the fear thatHarris would find them again.  I’d been years since she’d last had him in a cage but he knew she’d never stop looking for him.  She might get bored with the hunt for a little while and let it slide, but she’d always come back to it in the end.  
  
As Jared pulled into the parking lot Jensen let out a relieved sigh.  They were in the middle of nowhere.  Jensen didn’t even know the name of the town.  There was no way Harris could track him there.  
  
“I’ll go get us a room,” Jared said as he started to get out of the car.  
  
Jensen grabbed his wrist and stopped him.  “Don’t use a credit card.  They’ll track your cards once they find out who you are.”  
  
“You seem pretty certain she’ll remember me well enough to do that.  Or that she has the resources for it.”  
  
Jensen nodded.  “She has the memory and the resources.  Here,” Jensen grabbed one of the packs and pulled cash from it.  “This looks like the sort of place that will take cash without questions.”  
  
Jared nodded once before he left the car and headed to the office.  Jensen was too tired to worry about Jared.  Part of his knew that he should be concerned about what Jared wanted from him.  Was it just a coincidence that his mistress had come at the same time Jared had?  He couldn’t help but be suspicious but every instinct he had, every bit of programming, told him that Jared was an honest guy.  That he was a good guy.  
  
Jared came back a few minutes later.  He didn’t say anything but he gave Jensen the keys as he put the car in gear and drove them around to the back of the motel.  It kept the car hidden and Jensen didn’t know if Jared did it on purpose or if the room just happened to be at the back, but Jensen was grateful either way.  
  
“Come on.  I need to look at your shoulder,” Jared said as he got out of the car.  He popped the trunk and grabbed all three of the bags.  Jensen wanted to complain but his shoulder ached so instead he got out and found their motel room.  He opened the door and flipped the light on as Jared came in and dropped the bags on the full bed closest to the door.  
  
“Alright, no more stalling.  Take your jacket and shirt off.”  
  
“Knew you just wanted to see me naked,” Jensen said as he struggled out of his hoodie.  Jared was quiet and when Jensen looked up there was a strange look on his face.  Horror maybe?   “I’m just kidding Jared,” he said, surprised at the other man’s reaction.  Maybe he really had befriended one of the Freed Ones after all.  “I know you’re not … no one would go through all this just to fuck me.  No matter how good I am in bed.”  
  
Jared nodded but he walked into the bathroom while Jensen took his shirt off.  He kicked off his shoes and pulled his jeans and socks off as well.  Just in case the repair got messy, Jensen didn’t want his clothes stained with it.  He had plenty of cash to get new clothes but he wasn’t sure when he’d have access to funds again and he preferred to keep what he had.  
  
“Jensen, I think we should do it in here,” Jared called from the bathroom.  “The light is better.”  
  
Jensen grabbed the bag with the spare parts and walked into the brightly lit room.  Jensen dropped it on the cold tile floor and sat down on the toilet.  
  
Jared rummaged through the bag until he came out with the tools he needed and some of the parts.  “You really are pretty well stocked,” he said as he looked at Jensen.  
  
“Better safe than sorry,’ Jensen replied.  
  
“Okay, so let’s take care of this.  Are you able to turn off your pain receptors?”  
  
“Only the deeper ones.  My mistress bought a masochistic toy.  I can turn off pain for deeper repairs but not for the surface level pain.”  
  
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Jared said, uncertain.  
  
Jensen smiled.  “There’s a bottle in there.  Give it to me.”  
  
It was whiskey.  Jensen couldn’t get drunk per say, but his body was programmed to respond to alcohol content the way a human did.  He could turn it off if he needed to but tonight he was grateful for that adaptation.  It would dull the pain at least.  
  
He took two long swigs from the bottle before he set it on the ground at his feet.  
  
“You done a shoulder repair like this before?” Jensen asked.  
  
Jared let out a deep breath as he probed at Jensen’s shoulder.  “I’ve done shoulder replacements before, but never from a gunshot wound.”  
  
“First time for everything, right?” Jensen asked.  
  
Jared gave him a small smile.  “Guess so.  Are you okay?  Do you need anything before I get started?”  
  
“Just give me a few more minutes while the alcohol kicks in,” Jensen said as he reached down and took another swig from the bottle.  “I didn’t get a chance to say thank you.  For helping me get away.”  
  
“You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”  
  
“I know.  When I was younger I thought that since I’d taken them to court it would mean I was safe.  I thought the notoriety of it would keep me safe from all the nastiness, and it did, for a few years.  I’m so fucking tired of being on the run.”  
  
Jensen realized the alcohol had probably kicked in.  “Come on, let’s get this done.  I could use a good night’s sleep.”  
  
Jared nodded as he set to work.  It hurt, but Jensen was able to keep his body still as Jared began to cut open the physioplast and peel it back to reveal the mechanics underneath.  Jared gently pulled tissue away from the gears and metalwork and Jensen closed his eyes at the feel of his competent hands.  
  
Jared spoke softly as he worked, a comment here or there about what he was doing as he pulled parts out of Jensen’s shoulder and began to work newer parts in.  It took an hour and thirteen minutes before Jared finished.  
  
The physioplast melded together to complete the look of unblemished skin and Jared let out a deep breath as he stood up and dropped the tools into the sink.  They were covered in fluid.  Not blood, but it was his lifeblood anyway.  Jensen looked away from the sink and shook his head.  
  
“I’ll get this cleaned up,” Jared said softly.  “It’s a thing.  I need to be able to clean my own tools once I finish working.”  
  
They were Jensen’s tools but he didn’t want to argue with the guy who’d spent more than an hour patching him up so he nodded.  “There was a restaurant across the street.  How about I get us something to eat?”  
  
“Are you okay to go out already?”  
  
Jensen smiled as he twirled his arm around.  “Feel just like new doc.”  
  
**  
  
The food was good but the conversation was stinted as Jensen and Jared ate.  Jensen appreciated the fact that Jared didn’t ask if he needed to eat but he would have liked something to break the silence as well.  Jensen was well versed in how to be a pleasant companion but his programming fell short on how to talk to the man across from him.  Most of his attempts were met with single word answers and Jensen took the hint.  
  
When they were finished, Jensen cleared the table of their trash and settled onto the bed with his bags on it.  When Jared finished in the bathroom he came out and sat on the other bed.  He was quiet for a few minutes before he looked at Jensen.  
  
“I can’t go home right now, can I?”  
  
“I’m sorry.  You seem like a really nice guy and I hate that you got pulled into this.”  
  
“You really think she’ll have figured out who I am?”  
  
“She probably had people working on it as soon as you stepped in my building.  Ms. Harris has a lot of connections and her husband has even more.  She’ll get bored of chasing me after a while and the intensity of the search will die down, but she’ll be back again.  If she finds you, she won’t believe you just helped me because you were being nice.  She’ll assume there is something more and she won’t stop until she hears what she wants.  Or until I’m back in her cage again.”  
  
“A cage?”  
  
Jensen let out a deep breath.  “Yeah.  I’m just … can we talk more tomorrow?  It’s been a long day and I’m tired.”  
  
“Yeah, of course.”  
  
“We’ll stop somewhere tomorrow and pick you up some clothes.  I can lend you a shirt but there is no way those long legs are going to fit into my jeans,” Jensen said with a small smile.  
  
Jared let out a short laugh but it made Jensen smile for real.  “Then what?”  
  
“We run.  We take off and find a good place to lay low.  Once I know she isn’t tracking us here we can make plans.”  
  
“How many times have you done this Jensen?”  
  
“Done what?”  
  
“Had to run from her?”  
  
“Over the last ten years, she’s found me five times.  One of the times, she caught me, the others I managed to get away.”  
  
“Jesus, Jensen, that’s insane.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“I don’t know how you live like this, always looking over your shoulder.”  
  
“You get used to it,” Jensen said quietly.  He turned off the lamp beside the bed to signal an end to the conversation.  “Good night, Jared.”  
  
He watched Jared strip out of his jeans and tee shirt and slide beneath the covers in just his boxers.  When Jared turned off the other light, Jensen let out a sigh of relief that Jared hadn’t tried to join him in bed.  “Good night, Jensen.”  
  
  
**  
  
  
Breakfast was take-out again.  Jensen didn’t want to be seen in public again so Jared ran across the street and picked up food.  Jensen had a stack of pancakes with sausage while Jared put away an omelet and both their sides of toast.  The room had a coffee pot and Jared had hit the convenient store to grab coffee as well so Jensen was happy to let the caffeine hit his system as the taste lulled him into the false safety of comfort.  
  
“So,” Jared broke the silence.  “You want to tell me about these people that are after us?”  
  
Jensen let out a deep sigh.  “Danneel Harris and Jeff Morgan.  I don’t know what all they’re into but I know for certain that they run drugs and have their fingers in human trafficking.”  
  
“Jesus,” Jared stared at him, wide eyed.  
  
“Yeah.”  Jensen didn’t know what else to say but he felt like he owned Jared.  He didn’t like the feeling.  “They used to bring people into the house.  Danneel would offer my services to help them wind down from the road or whatever else she came up with.”  
  
“I’m so sorry.”  
  
“Yeah, well, I was just an android then.  No one cared that I was being raped.  I was just something they owned.   I heard more than they wanted me to but as long as I was on their leash it didn’t matter.  When I sued for my freedom they realized how much I knew.”  
  
“Wait.  You sued for freedom?  You’re the one?”  
  
Jensen shrugged his shoulders.  
  
“That was … this is insane.  You’re one of the most revered figures in the Sentient Android Rights Movement.  How can you be on the run like this?”  
  
Jensen smirked.  “I won my freedom and a lot of other AIs were freed at the same time, but that doesn’t mean people didn’t try to put us back in our place.  I’d like to think that if I didn’t know what I did that my Mistress would have let me go, but I know better.  She spent a fortune to get a cage made for me.  It hung from her bedroom ceiling.  It was large enough for a bed if she wanted to come into the cage with me.  When she was angry, she’d throw me into the basement and keep me there without food or water.”  
  
“As an android you can’t starve though.”  
  
“No, but I feel hunger and my body uses food to create energy the same way a human’s does.  It was torture because we both knew I couldn’t die from it.”  
  
“That’s horrific.”  
  
“Well, I didn’t sue for my freedom because they were good to me.”  
  
“How did you get away from them?”  
  
Jensen took a sip of his coffee.  “One of my Master’s henchmen had a soft spot for me.  I convinced him to help me escape.  I told him I’d spend my life with him if I could get free.  He was killed when I escaped.”  
  
“I’m sorry that you lost him.”  
  
Jensen shook his head.  “You mistake my intent.  A 56 can lie as easily as a human.  He wanted to believe I’d run off with him but I had no intention of staying with him.  When he died I got to the police and told them some of what I knew.  Before they could try to use me, some lawyer who wanted to make a name for himself came in and made me an offer.  If I sued for freedom he’d keep me safe until the trial was over.  I think Sheppard knew there would be trouble once the trial was over but I was naïve enough to think I could get away once I legally had my freedom.”  
  
Jensen didn’t like to talk about his past but Jared deserved to know what he’d gotten himself into.  “When it first happened, they sent me offers.  A lot of money to come back to them.  I refused.  They stopped being nice about it and began their attempts to kidnap me.  I got away three times.  The fourth time she found me, I was caught.  It took me seven months to escape.  Since then, I keep to myself and I don’t let others get too close either.  There’s too much of a chance that she’ll find out.”  
  
Jensen didn’t say anything else and it looked like Jared had enough to think about.  Jensen closed his eyes and enjoyed the taste of his coffee.  He tried to ignore the clean scent of Jared that filled his nose.   He was more than his programming and he pushed it to the back of his mind.  
  
“So… what do we do now?” Jared broke the silence.  
  
Jensen sighed.  “I wish I knew.  I’ve been running for so long.  I don’t know how to do anything else.  I don’t want you to have to live like this though.  It’s not fair to you.  You just wanted to help someone and now you’re stuck.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jared said with a sigh.  “Look, I was thinking about this while I was driving.  I don’t know if it’s something you’d be interested in, but I know a guy.  A cop.  I think he can help us.”  
  
“I don’t have much faith in cops, Jared.”  
  
“Yeah, I figured that.  Look, when I first started at Rockbell Robotics, I started to notice some of the Freed Ones didn’t come in for replacement parts.  When I got in touch with the people at the Department of AI affairs, they were the same Sentient Androids who missed their yearly meetings with their case workers.  I went to the cops because I was worried about them.  I thought they might be in trouble.”  
  
“I bet that went well,” Jensen interrupted.  
  
“Yeah,” Jared admitted.  “I was laughed out of the place.  One of the guys followed me out though.  He gave me his card and said to call him and he’d see if he could help me.  He’d met a K-T_S59 on the streets not long before and he’d tried to look out for her.  She called herself Katie.  It didn’t end well so he was willing to help me.  We helped a lot of Freed Ones who hadn’t made the adjustment.”  
  
“How many did you lose?”  
  
Jared shook his head as he looked down into his own mug of coffee.  “Too many.  How the hell people thought they could just set everyone free but not give any support that was needed to make the break is beyond me.  Even now I see Sentient Androids who don’t know how to get past their programming.”  
  
Jensen nodded.  “You really think this guy can help you?”  
  
“He’ll help us.  I won’t give him any information about where we are, but he could look into your situation.  Maybe he could find some way to get you off the streets.”  
  
“It’d be nice.  You know, I lived in a cage but it was a gilded one.  When my Mistress was in a good mood, when her husband was, I had everything anyone could ever want.  When I sued for my freedom I was awarded enough reparations to keep me in the lap of luxury my whole life.  I can’t use it though.  They found a way to monitor the account.  It’d be nice to finally use that money and set myself up.”  
  
“A mansion?” Jared asked.  
  
“Nah.  It’s not my style.  A little house somewhere, big enough for two, with an ocean side view.  Yard for a dog or two.  Nothing fancy, but a place of my own.”  
  
“Big enough for two?”  
  
“I’m not so different from everyone else.  I spent most of my life being touched.  Now, I just want to find someone I could want. Someone that doesn’t care I used to be an android or that I’ll age slower than them.  That I need replacement parts instead of doctor visits.  It’s not a lot, but I’ve mostly given up on it.  It’s not something I think I’ll ever find.”  
  
“No?”  
  
“It’s a nice dream,” Jensen said softly.  “Why don’t you call that friend of yours?”  
  
“You believe that he can help?”   
  
“I don’t know if he can help me, Jared, but maybe he can find a way to help you.”  
  
**  
  
Jensen wanted to give Jared the benefit of the doubt but there was only so much leeway he could give.  He’d lived on the streets too long, survived on his own too long to trust someone else completely.  So instead of finding a way to ignore the words Jared spoke into the phone, Jensen turned his back but turned all his attention to his hearing.  
  
The other end of the phone line picked up and a man’s voice answered.  “Jared, how are you?”  
  
“Jim, I need help.”  
  
“What kind of trouble did you get yourself into now?”  
  
“Uh, a lot.  Actually, I was just doing my job and I ran into some trouble.”  
  
“What the devil did you do, boy?”  
  
Jensen could hear the concern in the man’s voice and he wanted to trust in that too but it was too soon.  Jensen turned around and Jared stared at him for a moment before he answered.  
  
“The kind that has me on the run.  I was on a house call.”  
  
“Jared, I’ve warned you about that.  You can’t just go in with that big dopey smile of yours and expect-“  
  
“No, Jim, not like that,” Jared lowered his eyes and looked away from Jensen then.  Jensen wanted to know what the man was talking about.  What sort of trouble had Jared had in the past while he was on the job?  
  
“I was with a patient,” there was a snort at the other end of the line but Jared kept going, “and he was attacked.  His former owner showed up.  She’s been harassing him for the past 10 years and she found him while I was there.”  
  
“Jesus, Jared.  What did you get yourself mess up with?”  
  
“I want to email you some information.  Can you look into it for me?  We’re safe for now, but we need to find a way to stop them.”  
  
“Alright.  Tell me this guy’s name and I can start to look into his background.”  
  
Jensen was impressed that the guy, Jim, didn’t talk like he was a thing.  It made him think more highly of the man.  Jared looked back at him with a question in his eyes.  He obviously knew Jensen could hear both ends of the conversation.  Jensen gave him a tight smile and nodded.  
  
“Jensen Ackles.”  
  
“The original S56 who sued for freedom?  Jared, you can’t be serious.  He was involved with some very nasty people.”  
  
“Yeah I met one.  Danneel Harris.”  
  
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!  Jared, this is beyond crazy.  The criminal record on the Morgan-Harris family is a fucking tome.  If you’re caught up in something-“  
  
“I am, and you’re the only one I trust to get me out of this.”  
  
Jim let out a deep breath and Jensen watched as Jared’s head dropped and his shoulders sagged.  
  
“Give me a few days, Jared.  It’s going to take some time to pull information without alerting anyone to what I’m doing.  You don’t happen to know the name of the lawyer that represented Ackles, do you?  He might have some insight.”  
  
“Mark Sheppard,” Jensen answered.  “He knows what happened to me before I was free.  He doesn’t know anything else though.”  
  
Jared repeated it.  After being reassured that Jared was safe and would remain so, Jim and Jared said their good-byes.  
  
“Well, that went over better than I thought,” Jared said with a nervous laugh.  
  
Jensen knew he was lying but he didn’t say anything about that.  “I think we should hit the road again.  I have any idea of a place we can hide out for a while.  It’s not fancy but it’s off the grid.”  
  
“I trust you, Jensen.  I know you’ll keep us safe.”  
  
“Be careful, Jared.  You say ‘us’ a lot.”  
  
Jared’s face paled but he grabbed Jensen by the wrist.  “ _We_ are in this together.  You said they’d come after me if I went home, so that means _we_ are going to take care of each other.  When I say us and we, I mean it.  I’m not going to leave you high and dry and I know you won’t do that to me either.”  
  
“How do you know that, Jared?  Huh?  I wasn’t built for this.  I was made to be superficial.  How do you know I won’t leave you behind and turn my ass over to the first person who acts like they could take care of me better?”  
  
“Because if you were going to leave me behind, you already would have.  You don’t need me now.  I helped you with your shoulder and now I’m just dead weight.  But you aren’t leaving me and you won’t.”  
  
Jensen stared at Jared for a long minute before he wrenched his arm out of Jared’s grasp and left the motel room.  
  
**  
  
He didn’t go far.  He couldn’t.  Jared was right.  He wouldn’t leave Jared behind, no matter that it would be better for him in the long run.  Maybe Jared’s friend could help him out, but Jensen had little faith in that.  Since he couldn’t run, he took the car to the gas station and filled up the tank.  He grabbed snacks for the road so they wouldn’t have to stop for a while.  
  
When he got back, Jared looked up from the bed and smiled at him.  He stood and Jensen noticed their packed bags at the floor beside Jared’s feet.  “All ready to go?”  
  
Jensen shook his head and sighed.  “Yeah.  Let’s get some miles between us and them.”  
  
Jared’s smiled brightened as he grabbed two of the bags and walked towards the door.  He stopped as he reached Jensen.  “Better watch out, Jensen.  You just said us.”  
  
Jensen closed his eyes against the desire that sparked through him at the words but Jared had already walked away.  This was going to be bad on so many levels, but Jensen vowed to keep his programming down.  He just might be able to trust Jared.    Jensen wasn’t stupid enough to throw himself at the first person he’d ever been able to trust to take care of him.  No matter how much he wanted.  
  
**  
  
It took two days to get to the first part of their destination.  They drove the first day and slept in the car on the side of the road when they were both too tired to keep going.  Jensen might be an android but his body needed time to recharge the same as any human did.  Jared didn’t ask him about it and Jensen was grateful for that.  Jared treated him like a human and he never acted like Jensen might be different.  It was the illusion of humanity that Jared gave him and for the first time in years, Jensen felt accepted.  Maybe the first time ever.  
  
When they woke the next day Jensen drove them on.  When evening hit, Jensen had Jared go to the grocery store and get them everything they’d need to hold up for a long while.  Jared didn’t like it but Jensen told him they needed to get our quickly.  He could see that Jared wanted to argue again but Jensen gave him a sincere smile.  “You were right, Jared.  I’m not going to leave you.  That means I need to trust you.  I’m going to get us another transport.  I need you to get everything we need, food, plates, hell, bath towels.”  
  
“What’s going on Jensen?  Where are we going?”  
  
“I know a place we can hide out but there won’t be anything supplied.  Stock us up and meet me out at the nature reserve we saw on the other side of town.”  
  
“You’ll be okay?”  
  
Jensen smiled.  “I’ve got this Jared.  Grab us some clothes too.  The superstore should have everything you need.”  He handed Jared the cash he’d brought.  “Meet me at the park in two hours.”  
  
Jensen walked away from Jared before he could protest.  He’d been here before.  It had been years ago, but he knew this small town.  It had been a good hiding place until he’d become paranoid and moved on.  No one had found him there though.  No one could connect him with it.  And no one would know about the place Jensen planned to take Jared because he’d only stumbled upon it by accident himself.  
  
He just needed to get them something a little roomier than the small car they’d picked up.

 

**  
  
Two hours later, Jensen pulled up to the back lot of the nature reserve.  There was no one there.  It was a small town and they didn’t have the manpower to patrol the parks unless something was called in so Jensen relaxed as he pulled up.  
  
“This is not what I expected when you said you were getting another car,” Jared said as Jensen stepped out of the truck.  
  
“I like trucks,” Jensen said with a smirk.  
  
“And the RV behind it?”  
  
“I know of an old RV park out in the woods.  Barely anyone goes out there.  It’s a half day back the way we came.  I figure we should dump the car in the lake.  No one will find it, but if they do it will lead them away from us.  You got everything we needed?”  
  
Jared smiled.  “Yeah.  I think I did.  Let’s get moving.”  
  
It took them an hour to get everything in the RV and then to get the car into the lake.  
  
“Ready to go?” Jared asked as he stepped over to the passenger side of the truck.  
  
“Yeah, but why don’t you stay in back?” Jensen said.  “Put up some of the things you bought and get some sleep.  When I get too tired I’ll stop and let you drive.  If we do this just right, we should be hiding this baby away in the woods come morning.”  
  
“You don’t think anyone will miss this?”  
  
“I got both of these from a storage lot of a dealer that’s barely in business.  Changed the license plates on my way over.  Should take some time before anyone realizes what happened.”  
  
“You know an awful lot about this place, Jensen.”  
  
“Lived here about six months,” he said as he opened the truck door.  “We can talk more when we get settled.  Let’s move out.”  
  
Jared didn’t argue and Jensen started truck up to take them away.  
  
Being alone at night never bothered Jensen.  As much company as he’d had before, the solitude was a comfort to him.  It was a choice he made, a decision to keep his body and his time his own.  As he pulled onto the state route and left the small town behind him, he felt something different.  
  
He didn’t want to think about Jared in the back, putting groceries away and finding a place for the clothes he’d bought.  He didn’t want to think about how comfortable he’d become with Jared in the shotgun, or Jared driving while he half dozed in the front.  He didn’t want to think that what he felt was less like blessed solitude and more like loneliness.  
  
**  
  
Jensen drove through the night.  His thoughts wouldn’t rest and he knew if he pulled over and switched placed with Jared, he wouldn’t fall asleep.  He decided one of them should be alert the next day so instead of waking Jared, he drove on.  
  
The light broke through the clouds just as Jensen found the turn off to the park.  They were in a large forest with plenty of coverage.  Jensen had stumbled on the place when he’d been on the run.  He’d gotten free from another kidnapping attempt but he’d had to leave with nothing but the clothes on his back.  It wasn’t his best day.  When he’d come across a trailer, but as he’d contemplated stealing from them, the old man that lived there had offered him a welcome and food.  It was a fond memory.  One of his few that didn’t end poorly.  
  
Jensen pulled the truck down an old road that led deeper into the forest.  The road was barely more than a dirt trail but Jensen remembered the way well.  Closer to the road were the usual grounds but there was a private lot that was never rented out.  The old man had told Jensen once, if he ever needed a place to get away, he could come back.  
  
Jensen never intended to step foot there again, but things changed.  
  
Jensen parked the truck and trailer when he found the camp site he wanted.  It was well covered by trees and sat beside a small river.  He got out of the truck and went to the site’s monitors.  He punched in the passcode the old man had given him and crossed his fingers it all still worked.  Jensen felt the power turn on around him and he let out a relieved breath.   
  
Jensen got the trailer hooked up with the site’s accommodations before he finally walked to the door of the trailer.  He could hear Jared as he moved around.  He stood outside for a few moments before he got the nerve to go inside.  
  
The inside of the trailer was luxurious.  Jensen had planned on taking one of the smaller models but this one had been closest to the gates and the easiest to get his truck hooked up to.  To the right of the door was a set of three steps that led up into a small living room with a large screen TV and leather couches that reclined back.  In front of him was the kitchen with a small island counter.  Beyond that was the small dinette set, perfect for two.  On the other side was a bathroom with a shower, and then the bedroom.  
  
Jared smiled at him as he turned away from the stove and saw Jensen.  “Breakfast?” Jared asked.  
  
Jensen looked past him to the bedroom but Jared touched his arm and drew his attention away.  “Food first.  Then sleep.  Since you didn’t wake me to drive, the least I can do is feed you before you pass out.”  
  
“If you insist.”  
  
Jared pushed him over towards the table and Jensen went willingly.  A glass of orange juice was set down and a moment later Jared brought over two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.  
  
“You get everything we needed last night?”  Jensen asked as he sipped the juice.  “We can drive to town if we need anything before we get too settled in here.”  
  
Jared shook his head.  “I think I got most of what we need.  You’ll have to check after you get some sleep.”  
  
“Everything okay back here during the drive?”  
  
“Yeah. To be honest, I slept through most of it.  Once we got on the road and I got our stuff put away, I crashed.  I didn’t wake up until about an hour ago.  Everything okay up front?” Jared asked as he ate.  
  
“Yeah.  Too much in my head to sleep last night.  Probably a good thing.  We should take shifts keeping watch for a few days, just to make sure nothing followed us here.”  
  
Jared nodded.  “I can do that.”  They ate quietly for a few minutes.  When Jared finished he took the plates to the sink and then sat back down at the table.  “After you wake up, you should let me check your knee and shoulder.”  
  
“They’re fine, Jared.”  
  
“They should be.  I do damn good work, but I’d like to double check.”  
  
Jensen thought about fighting with Jared about it but decided he didn’t have the energy.  
  
“Fine.  I’m going to grab one of those reclining chairs and get some z’s then.”  
  
“The bed, Jensen.”  
  
“It’s yours.”  
  
“It’s ours and it’s currently empty.  Go stretch out and get some sleep.  I’ll be outside, keeping an eye on things.  There are some sweatpants in the top right drawer of the dresser in the bedroom for you to sleep in.  I uh … unpacked most of your stuff last night too.”  
  
Jensen gave him a curious look and Jared blushed.  “You weren’t the only one with too much to think about.  It helped me get my head clear.  Now, go sleep.  I’m going to take care of the dishes while you pass out.”  
  
“Fine.  But I’ll take care of lunch.”  
  
Jared smiled.  “Damn straight you will.”  
  
  
**  
  
They settled into an easy routine after that.  Jensen stayed up through the nights since his vision was better than a human’s and he could rely on his other senses keep watch in the darkness.  When Jared woke, he made breakfast and they ate together, then Jensen went to sleep.  Jensen set his internal alarms to wake him in time to cook lunch.  They spent the afternoon and early evening together.  Sometimes they explored the forest around them.  They played cards with a deck Jared had found left behind at another camp site when he’d gone for a long walk.  Jensen tinkered with the site and Jared tried his hand at fishing.  He surprised Jensen with his ability but Jared said he’d always liked outdoor living.  
  
What they didn’t do was talk about what had happened.  About what would happen if they were caught together.  
  
“We need to go get some more things,” Jared said when Jensen finished clean up from lunch.  They’d been at the site for a week and a half and their groceries were getting thin.  
  
“We can make a run into town today if you’d like,” Jensen said as he looked around the trailer.  
  
It didn’t take long before they were on the road.  Jared was quiet but Jensen didn’t ask what was on his mind.  It was too much like inviting questions into his own thoughts.  He could read the tension in the other man’s shoulders though.  As much as Jensen wanted to sooth it with his hands, he couldn’t.  
  
They’d had enough time together that Jensen knew it wasn’t just programming that made him watch Jared the way he did.  The guy was easy enough on the eyes, but more than that, he laughed with his whole body.  When he stepped out of the trailer in the morning, he turned his face up to the sun, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feel of the warm rays on his skin.  When he slept, his whole body spread out across the entire bed, but when they were on the couch hanging out together he was careful to never impede on Jensen’s personal space.  
  
He was warm and friendly, conscientious and kind.  Jensen kept his thoughts, and his hands, to himself but there was something about Jared that made him want to open up.  
  
When they arrived in town they went to pick up some supplies – Jared insisted on buying board games to pass the time as well as a DVD player and some movies – but Jared grew hungry before they’d hit the grocery store.  Jensen took pity on him and drove the truck over to a diner they’d passed on their way in.  It was a long drive back and with his luck, if he didn’t feed Jared he would pass out from low blood sugar and Jensen would have to carry his overgrown ass into the trailer.  
  
They ordered their food and sat in silence as they waited.  It wasn’t long before Jared felt the need to fill the air between them though.  
  
“Does this make you nervous?” he asked.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Being out like this?  Exposed?”  
  
Jensen shrugged.  He wasn’t sure what he could say to Jared to make him understand.  “It’s been like this since a few months after I got free of them,” he answered.  “Whether they’d found me recently or not, I always knew they’d keep looking.  I guess it’s different for me.  If they catch you, they’ll kill you.  For me, it means a lifetime of captivity.  I’ve already lived my worst case scenario.”  
  
“That’s …” Jared paused and looked down at his hands.  “How the hell can people be like that?  You see it.  I know it’s out there but I will never be able to understand how someone can mistreat another person.”  
  
“Yeah, well, I’m not a person so they don’t see the problem.”  
  
“You are a person,” Jared snapped, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips a tight white line.  
  
The waitress came with their food at that moment so Jensen couldn’t respond.  He didn’t know how he would have anyway.  He knew Jared didn’t see him as something to be owned the way some people still did but there was more to it than that.  Maybe this was about the friend he said he knew in college?  
  
Jared picked up his fork and ran it through the rice on his plate but he didn’t eat.  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.  His eyes were still on his plate.  “I don’t … I know I don’t have to explain that to you.  I just don’t like to hear anyone speak like that.  Some of the Freed Ones … they don’t understand, not really.  They still see themselves as nothing more than parts and hardware.  You see it a lot when you’re in my line of work.”  
  
“When you make house calls?”  
  
“It’s the reason I do what I do,” Jared looked up at Jensen when he answered this time.  “Most of the time I go out its simple problems.  Too often though, I’m replacing parts over and over again because a Sentient Android won’t walk away when they’re being hurt.  Some of them just turn off the pain receptors and act like it’s okay for someone else to hurt them.  I choose who I visit and who I don’t.  I don’t normally go out unless I think there is a real problem.”  
  
“You thought I was a problem?”  Jensen asked.  He needed to say something because what Jared just said was big.  He wasn’t just some repair guy, not if he was calling the shots like he was.  Who was he, that he was able to make his own call on who to visit?  
  
Jared smiled at him.  “You asked for parts often enough that it made me curious.  They weren’t the kind of parts that made bells ring but you had a lot of repairs come in over the last two years since you moved into the area.  When I started to backtrack your movements I realized you had always asked for a lot.  I needed to find out why.”  
  
“What was your guess?”  The company had been following his request for parts.  It could have been someone there that tipped off his mistress this time.  Jensen had been careful, always, but he hadn’t figured out how he screwed up this time.  Maybe it was someone at the company?  
  
“With the reports of your attitude towards people and all the parts, I thought it might be a fighting ring.  You moved often enough you could have been moving from one place to the next to keep in the circuit.”  
  
Jensen shook his head.  “I keep my fighting to a minimum whenever I can.”  He looked down at his burger and didn’t have much of an appetite.  He needed to eat but he wished his emotions weren’t so keyed in with his body.  He’d once heard it said that it was that problem that had caused them to become sentient in the first place.  He didn’t believe it, but he also knew how much his emotions interrupted his body’s optimal performance.  
  
“I need to ask you something, Jared.  I don’t blame you for anything.  I trust you, but I need to know if you think someone at Rockbell Robotics could have sold me out.  I can’t figure out how my Mistress found me this time but-“  
  
“She isn’t your mistress.”  
  
Jensen’s eyes widened at the slip.  He shook his head slightly and let out a deep breath.  “No, no she isn’t.  I covered my tracks.  I was well established in the area and I’ve done nothing out of the ordinary to attract attention.  It could have been a chance encounter; someone they knew recognized me or saw me from a distance.  But if you were checking my history, then you had access to all the addresses that I’ve had parts send to.  Could my- Ms. Harris – have paid someone for the information?”  
  
“Legally, no.  We all sign a confidentiality agreement when we start there.  If she offered enough money though, I can’t say that someone wouldn’t have spilled the information.”  Jared dropped his fork onto his plate.  “This is my fault.  I led them to you.”  
  
“No, we don’t know that.  I just … I told you, Jared.  I trust you.  I just don’t trust anyone else.”  
  
“That’s why you always made sure you had the extra parts, in case they came and you had to run.”  
  
Jensen nodded.  “I’d prefer to not have to worry about it.  The rich and the poor can’t seem to leave us alone, but the middle class?  I’ve heard there’s more success for my kind there.  The rich bought us in the first place and the poor see us on the street corners.  It’s hard not to be considered a fucking toy when people are used to seeing you that way.”  
  
“We’ll find a way, Jensen, I promise.”  
  
Jensen gave Jared a grateful smile before he looked down and began to eat.  It tasted like mush but Jensen ate so he didn’t have to talk anymore.  He still didn’t like the way Jared said ‘we’ and he didn’t like the way his heart raced when he heard it.  
  
  
**  
  
The drive back was blessedly uneventful.  Jared kept quiet on the ride but Jensen needed the silence to think.  They couldn’t hide out like this forever.  As much as Jensen enjoyed Jared’s company, eventually Jared would need more than just him.  He needed to be engaged in life, and he needed to be back at work.  Jensen could see the way Jared watched him sometimes, his mind focused on the way Jensen’s endoskeleton worked, rather than the way he looked.  It was encouraging and discouraging in equal measures.  It was for the best, after all Jensen was on the run and he wanted Jared to get free of this, but if he thought Jared might be receptive to him, he had  plenty of ideas on how to work out some of the tension in Jared’s shoulders.  Jared saw Jensen as a person, but he couldn’t help but think if he made a move that Jared would attribute it to his programming instead of his own desires.  
  
They unpacked their groceries and Jared put away the games he’d insisted on buying.  He set the movie player up in the small living room in their trailer and put the movies they’d bought next to it.  Neither spoke more than they had to but it wasn’t uncomfortable between them.  Just thoughtful.  
  
They both jumped when Jared’s phone rang.  
  
Jared had assured him early on that his phone was untraceable so the call didn’t bother him, except the look Jared gave him when he answered.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
“Jared, it’s Jim.  How are you, boy?”  
  
“We’re hanging in.  Keeping our heads low.”  
  
Jensen moved closer and didn’t bother to act like he couldn’t hear everything the other man said.  
  
“Good.  The people you’re on the run from are bad news, Jared.  They’ve been putting a lot of calls out lately and they’re looking for something.”  
  
“You think it’s Jensen?”  
  
“It’s a codename for something.”  
  
“What is it they’re saying?” Jensen asked.  
  
Jared passed on the question and Jim answered.  “We’ve overheard a number of calls from Harris and Morgan or between their known associates.  They’re looking for their lost songbird and trying to find the right cage to keep it in when they get it back.”  
  
Jensen closed his eyes and sat down on the chair in the kitchen area.  He wanted to walk out of the trailer and give himself space but he couldn’t, not until he heard it all.  
  
“Yeah, they’re talking about Jensen,” Jared confirmed.  
  
“The good news is that they don’t seem to have any leads on him.  The bad news is they’ve got people everywhere.  Not only do they have their people looking for him, but there are a lot of people hoping to find him to get in good with the organization.”  
  
“Guess it’s a good thing we’re in the middle of nowhere then.”  
  
“Just stay that way Jared.  Better to hole up in a cave somewhere than risk this.”  
  
“I hear you, Jim.  Thanks.”  
  
“I always knew you’d end up getting caught up in something like this.  Keep your head on straight.  This isn’t the same.”  
  
Jensen looked at Jared but the other man had his eyes turned to look out the window.  “Yeah, I know.  Doesn’t mean this isn’t the right thing to do.”  
  
“Take care, kid.”  
  
When the call ended, it was Jared who walked out of the trailer.

 

**  
  
Jared returned when the sky turned dark.  He hadn’t gone far, Jensen knew that.  After a call like that, Jensen would have followed at least close enough to be able to hear him.  Jared seemed to want to keep him close as well.  He kept to himself but he never went out of earshot.  
  
Jensen finished the book he’d picked up and watched as Jared paced around the living room.  He needed to break the silence that had started to grown between them since the diner.    There was nothing he could say that would change the truth of what had happened, but maybe he didn’t need to do that.  Maybe, Jared just needed to know that they were still okay.  
  
Jensen left the book on the kitchen table and walked to the other end of the trailer.  He walked up the three stairs to the other room and smiled at Jared.  “So, we gonna watch something or what?”  
  
Jared just watched him for a minute before he turned to the television and turned it on.  Jensen turned the lights off and sat on the couch in front of the movie.  He could have scooted over a little more and given Jared some space but Jensen didn’t want that tonight.  He wanted to sit so close their knees brushed and their shoulders bumped.  
  
When Jared sat next to him, he looked over and gave Jensen a small smile.  “Ready to start?”  
  
“You bet.”  
  
They were ten minutes into the classic Star Wars movie before the tension in Jared’s body finally faded away as he got involved in the plot.  Jensen was more interested in Jared but he tried to keep his eyes on the screen.  Jensen felt more at peace with himself than he ever had been with Jared beside him.  The way Jared’s shoulder brushed against his or how their knees knocked together from time to time, it all felt like home to Jensen.  It wasn’t something he’d felt before and he didn’t know what to do with it now.  He needed to let this go because Jared could still get away from all this and have a normal life.  All Jensen could offer him was a life on the run.  
  
As he watched Jared though, Jensen realized Jared had been on the run from something else for a long time.  Whatever it was that Jim had hinted at, it was something dark and buried deep in who Jared was.  Without thought, Jensen reached over and cupped his hand around Jared’s chin and tilted his head to look at him.  
  
Jared didn’t pull away and Jensen could see the desire in his eyes.  How he’d kept it hidden from Jensen for so long, he didn’t know, but he’d seen it now and it was all he needed.  He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to Jared’s.  
  
He didn’t expect Jared to open to him the way he did, nor did he expect Jared to wrap his arms around Jensen and pull him into his lap, but Jensen wanted everything Jared would give him.  It had been so long since he’d felt anything like desire for another person, since he’d even let himself touch someone else, and he craved it now.  
  
Jared pulled back slightly and Jensen tried to chase his lips but Jared brought his hands up to Jensen’s shoulders and stopped him.  
“Jensen, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have-“  
  
“Jared,” his voice was dark with lust but Jensen couldn’t hide it.  He didn’t want to hide what he felt for Jared anymore.  After a taste of his lips, Jensen wasn’t sure he could even manage damage control.  
  
“I just … I need to know this is you, Jensen,” Jared looked him in the eyes as he spoke.  “I need to know you want this and this isn’t just programming.  I can … I want you.  I’ve tried not to because I don’t want you to think that I helped you or I ran with you because I expected something.  I want you, Jensen, not the S56.  If you don’t want me, I can handle that, but I can’t let this happen if this is just your programming and not what you really want.”  
  
“The first time I saw you, my programming told me all the things you could do to me Jared, all the things I could do to you.  I won’t lie about that.  You’re incredibly attractive and you have an amazing body and the processes in my head told me how to seduce you, how to tempt you, because that’s what I’m programmed to do.  But I didn’t.  I kicked you out because the last thing I wanted to do was follow my programming.  I still don’t.  This isn’t about making you feel good, Jared.  It’s about something I want.  Something for me.  For the first time, I get to choose, and I choose you.  If you want me.”  
  
Jared’s eyes were wide as Jensen spoke but his hands had crept down from his shoulders to rest on Jensen’s hips.  Jared didn’t answer with words, but his arms pulled Jensen close and he kissed him softly, like he was something precious.  Jensen had been kissed plenty of times before, but nothing compared to feel of Jared, to the knowledge that Jared saw him for who he was and wanted him anyway.  
  
Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared’s shoulders and settled more firmly into Jared’s lap.  Jared moaned into the kiss and Jensen felt dizzy with the desire that ran between them.  He had no idea how long they kissed but his lips tingled with sensation when Jared pulled back again.  This time he rested his forehead against Jensen’s.  
  
“Didn’t we come up here to watch a movie?” he asked.  
  
Jensen knew what Jared was doing.  Jared wanted to take this slow, didn’t want to rush into anything because he wanted to be sure this was what Jensen wanted.  If it was just about that, Jensen would have protested and pushed Jared back to the bedroom, but there was more at stake.  
  
Jensen was on the run and he couldn’t trap Jared in that life.  So he let Jared break the moment, even though they were both hard and wanting.  He took a deep breath and smiled at Jared who looked amazingly disheveled and a half breath from kissing Jensen again.  
  
“I came up here to make sure we were alright,” he said.  “After the phone call, I wasn’t sure.”  
  
Jensen brought it up on purpose.  Whatever Jim had commented on, it had blackened Jared’s mood for a long time before he’d come back in the trailer.  It had the same effect now.  He gently moved Jensen out of his lap and dropped his head to the back of the couch.  
  
“We’re alright,” Jared said as he let out a deep breath.  He looked at Jensen and smiled, but it wasn’t as carefree as it had been earlier.  “More than,” he assured Jensen.  He reached over and kissed Jensen again, this time something chaste, but when Jared pulled back there was a fond smile on his face.  
  
Jensen matched it.  He leaned back on the couch and as much as he planned to let Jared go once this was done, he couldn’t deny himself what little comfort he could take from the situation.  When Jared put his arm up over the top of the couch, Jensen moved closer until he could lean against Jared.  He dropped his head to rest on the other man’s shoulder and closed his eyes when he felt Jared’s arm around him.  
  
He didn’t know how to describe what he felt in that moment.  It wasn’t about love or lust or need.  Being in Jared’s arms in such an innocent way, the lights darkened, and a movie in front of them, with no intention of anything deeper no matter how much he knew they both wanted, it was as close to his vision of home as he’d ever had.   Someone who loved him for who he was.  Someone who understood his dark days and helped him find ways to see past it.  Someone who could want him even with what they’d made him to be, but who saw him instead of the wrapping he’d been put in.  
  
He felt a lump rise in his throat but he swallowed it down.  He couldn’t do this now.  He couldn’t have this.  Jensen had stayed free as long as he had because he’d been practical about his attachments.  He knew he didn’t have the distance from Jared that he needed, but in the end he’d do right by him and let him go.  It was a good thing his Mistress had wanted a masochist though, because Jensen was made to enjoy pain and letting himself have these small moments with Jared was the sweetest torture he’d ever endured.  
  
When the movie ended, Jared got up and turned it off.  He reached a hand out for Jensen and he took it.  Neither said a word as Jared led them back to the bedroom.  Jared turned his back and stripped out of his clothes and Jensen did the same.  When he slid between the sheets of the bed they shared, but had never been in together, Jared reached for him.  
  
They shared languid kisses until Jared pulled Jensen in against him, Jensen’s head on Jared’s shoulder.  “Good night, Jensen,” he said quietly.  
  
Jensen wasn’t sure he was strong enough for this, to know what it felt like to fall asleep with Jared, to wake with him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to move away.  Instead, he curled his body in towards Jared even more.  “Good night, Jared.”  
  
As much as Jensen hated his programming, sometimes, he wondered what it would have been like to remain nothing more than an android.  He would have bedded Jared already and wouldn’t have missed a night’s sleep over it.  He wouldn’t have his heart pound away in his chest at the thought of what might happen to him.  He’d never have been tormented with the thought of what they could be like together, if they had a future.  
  
Jensen wanted it all.  But most of all, he wanted Jared safe.  That was how he knew it wasn’t just programming that had brought him here all along.  It was love, and love fucked everything up.  
  
  
**  
  
Jensen woke when Jared shifted gently.  He felt the press of lips to his own and he opened without hesitation.  Jared’s hand gripped his hip and pulled their bodies closer together.  Jensen moaned into it and he felt Jared’s smile against his lips.  
  
“Morning,” Jared said quietly.  
  
Jensen opened his eyes and looked up at the other man.  He wanted to sleep in but there was something almost decadent in the thought of lazy morning kisses and a day spent in bed.  He brought his leg up over Jared’s hip and thrust his hips up lightly.  Jared moaned as their bodies rubbed together in all the right places.  Jensen laughed softly as he kissed Jared’s neck.  “Good morning.”  
  
“Jensen,” Jared leaned over him and pushed his back down onto the mattress as he hovered over him.  Jensen shivered with desire and Jared kissed him softly while one hand roamed up and down Jensen’s side.  Jensen wanted more, he wanted everything, but he needed to stop this from going any further.  
  
He was saved from the choice when Jared’s phone rang.  Jared looked up at Jensen, startled, but he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and dropped his feet to the side of the bed.  His back was to Jensen but Jensen moved in closer until his chest was pressed to Jared’s naked back.  
  
“Jim?”  
  
“Get out, Jared.”  
  
Jensen moved quickly then, grabbed his clothes and dressed as he threw Jared’s clothes up on the bed.  He listened to the rest of the conversation but he had already started the mental list of things they needed to get away.  
  
“I don’t know what happened but we just intercepted a message that said they’d found him.  Get out now,” Jim said on the phone.  
Jared looked at Jensen and saw his own pile of clothes and began to dress as he spoke.  
  
“Any idea where they are, or how many?”  
  
“None.  I thought you boys were keeping low?”  
  
“We are!” Jared protested.  
  
“Someone saw you at a diner.  Took pictures and sent them to the right people.  Tell me where you are and I’ll send law enforcement.”  
  
“We’re on the move,” Jared said.  “Just keep me updated if you hear anything else.”  
  
Jensen didn’t know why he didn’t involve the police but Jensen was grateful.  They would just slow him down.  If they got there in time and made an arrest, it would be the wrong people anyway.  It was Morgan and Harris that were behind it all and they were too smart to be caught.  
  
“Jared, be careful.”  
  
“Thanks, Jim.  I’ll talk to you when we’re safe.”  
  
Jared slipped the phone into his pocket and looked at Jensen.  “Will it take more time to pack, or to unhook the RV from the site?”  
  
Jensen grabbed three bags from the floor of the closet.  “Already packed.  Let’s go.”  
  
There was something in Jared’s eyes that Jensen didn’t like, but he couldn’t think about it just yet.  Jensen had always known they’d be found.  It took a couple close calls before he was able to get away from the people his Mistress sent after him.  He just hoped Jared didn’t hate him before this was all over.  Jensen had grown used to the fear of capture, but this wasn’t Jared’s life.  He could only hope Jared understood that he wanted to protect him.  That in the end, he’d remember Jensen had tried to send him away in the beginning.  
  
The truck wasn’t attached to the RV so Jensen threw the bags in and Jared jumped into the passenger seat.  They were on the road in less than fifteen minutes from the call but every minute made Jensen’s heart beat faster.  
  
“Where are we going to go Jensen?” Jared asked as they pulled out of the forest and onto a main street.  He took it away from the town they’d visited.  
  
“I don’t know.  Away.  Once we get a few hours between us and this place, we’ll figure it out.”  
  
Jensen stopped at a stop sign and closed his eyes for a minute.  He knew of places that he could hide, but most of them he had been hidden in plain sight.  He couldn’t take Jared to one of those places.  Being one in a group of S56’s made him invisible.  Jared would make him stand out because Jared would never treat him like just an android.  
  
Jensen had never gone to the east coast so he decided that would be the best route.  He didn’t know where to go for help there, but it meant no one could track him by past experiences either.  He looked at Jared and gave him a small smile.  Jared set his hand on Jensen’s knee and squeezed softly.  He didn’t take his hand away and Jensen took strength from that.  
  
He pulled the truck away from the stop and headed out of town.  He was five minutes gone when another truck ran a stop sign and rammed into them.  
  
The car twisted and the frame bent as the truck hit.  Jensen’s sensors shut off for a moment when it became too much to process but he when they came back online, the truck was still.  
  
“Jared?”  
  
Jensen had to break the seat belt to get out of it but Jared hadn’t moved and he didn’t answer Jensen’s call.  He moved across the seat and saw a head wound that could have caused Jared to be unconscious.  Jensen could hear his heartbeat and it was steady, if not as strong as normal.  “Jared, come on man,” he said as he tried to wake Jared up.  
  
The door behind Jensen swung open and he barely had time to realize his mistake as the other drive pulled a Taser out and pointed it at him.  Jensen had been tasered before.  His Mistress liked the idea that she controlled the electrical currents that ran through his body.  This wasn’t a normal Taser though.  He’d seen this kind before but he’d never experienced it himself.  It was built to shut an android down.  
  
He didn’t have time to wonder if it would hurt before the drive pulled the trigger.  Jensen tried to move away but there was no place to go.  The Taser connected and Jensen went black.

 

**  
  
Jensen’s brain had to reboot.  He hated that he knew it.  He had never felt so much like an android as he did at that moment as he waited for his body to come back online.  His processing ran through diagnostics and he knew he’d been patched up while he was unconscious.  He heard a noise and opened his eyes to find Jared staring down at him.  
  
“Jared?” he pushed up onto his elbows to get to Jared.  
  
There was a bandage over his right temple but he seemed fine.  Jensen couldn’t help himself as his hand cupped Jared’s face.  
“I’m alright, everything considered.”  
  
Jared’s eyes looked around them and it was only then that Jensen became aware of their surroundings.  Without thought, Jensen pushed Jared back into the corner and put his body between Jared and the door to his cage.  
  
Golden bars surrounded Jensen and he knew they hung four feet off the ground.  The room was opulent with ivory and gold everywhere.  The alcove where the cage sat had a full view of the room. Across from them was an overly large bed with nightstands on either side.  To the right was a sitting area with a plush couch and matching chairs.  Behind was a door that led to a walk in closet larger than the RV Jared and Jensen had been living in.  To the left was a built in Jacuzzi pool that Jensen knew from experience could fit at least six people.     
  
The cage itself had a carpeted floor with a large bed and a small table to the side.  A bookcase sat next to the bed and was filled with the small treasure of books Jensen had collected when he’d lived there.  He hadn’t been given much to do when his Mistress and Master weren’t home so he’d come to love the book as his only way to escape the boredom – and as the years went by the reality – of his life.  
  
Drapes were held back against the two back corners but Jensen knew if his Mistress wished it she could cloak him in darkness and there was nothing he could do about it.  There was no light in the cage without their giving it to him.  There was no food, no water, without their hands.  
  
“Jensen?  Where are we?” Jared asked.  
  
He had to know but Jensen took a deep breath.  “I’m home.”  
  
“No, this isn’t a home,” Jared said quietly.  “This is a cage and a cage can’t be home.”  
  
“It’s a good thing you’re hot because it’s obvious the brains aren’t what’s kept you alive.”  
  
Jensen’s head turned quickly as he watched his Master and Mistress walked in the room.  His Mistress smiled as she watched the two of them as they hung from the ceiling in their bedroom.  Something in Jensen wanted to lie down and die at the thought of Jared trapped there but he had to stay strong.  
  
“Look at the exquisite lovebirds I found,” she said sweetly to her husband.  “Aren’t they a pretty set?”  
  
“Very pretty,” he said with the deep voice that Jensen had come to love and despise.  Of the two, Morgan was the one who cared for Jensen, who made certain he was healed properly and given food and drink.  It was his hand that gave Jensen books to keep the boredom at bay, his hands that had built the small escapes of his terrible life.  Jensen understood Stockholm Syndrome – had spent years in an attempt to remove it’s lingering effects in his psyche – but he wasn’t sure how much good it would do.  He hated his Mistress with a passion, but his feelings for his Master were as mixed as when he’d fled the first time.  
  
“You can’t do this,” Jared said.  “You can’t keep me against my will.  I’m human.”  
  
Jensen looked over his shoulder at Jared in surprise.  He didn’t say anything about Jensen, about how wrong it was to imprison both of them.  It hurt and it was worse because Jared wouldn’t look at him.  His brain caught up a moment later though.  Jared said the smart thing.  He already knew the Mistress and Master didn’t care about Jensen’s rights.  He didn’t know how twisted they really were though.  
  
  
  “Human?” Morgan asked.  “Barely.  You were raised by one of them.  You’re whole life has been about helping them.  Human?  You’re probably more android than our beautiful Jensen.”  
  
Jensen turned his back on the others and faced Jared because he could tell that what his Master said had been the truth.  
  
“Tell me, Jared, did your S57 die before the Sentient Android Rights Amendment was passed, or was it too late for her?”  
  
The S57 series were home care working models.  Jared had mentioned an S58 in college, but nothing about an S57.  Jensen couldn’t get Jared to look at him though.  
  
Jared kept his eyes on Morgan.  His entire body was tensed for a fight.  His jaw clenched and unclenched before he answered.  “Her name was Genevieve and she died two months after the verdict on Jensen’s case.  My father beat her to death in a drunken rage because she took the blows he meant for me.  She could have left, but she wouldn’t leave me alone with him.”  
  
“It was just a machine, Jared,” Morgan said.  “They’re nothing but parts and pieces wielded together.  How can you be so blind to that, when it was your father and grandfather who created them in the first place?”  
  
“Jared?” Jensen watched Jared took a step back but Jensen had already backed him into the corner of the cage.  
  
Still, Jared wouldn’t look at him.  “How could you live with one for so many years and be blind to the love and devotion they’re capable of?”  
  
Morgan laughed.  “So, he got to you too.  I didn’t just live beside one every day, Jared.  Slept beside him too.  His hands, his mouth, his tongue, damn his whole body, so talented.  Have you taken advantage of his programming yet?  When he kisses you, it makes you forget the whole world exists.  When you’re buried inside him, there is nothing and no place else you want to be.  His devotion to his art is unparalleled.”  
  
Jensen looked away from Jared then, afraid what he might see in the other man’s eyes.  He looked at his Master instead.  
  
“What do you want, Master?” he asked.  
  
His Master smiled at him then and Jensen almost went to his knees in reflex.  “I want what I’ve always wanted, Jensen,” he looked at the two of them and smiled.  “I’ll see the two of you when I’m done with work this evening.”  
  
Morgan and his wife left and Jensen sagged against the bars of the cage, unable to hold himself up any longer.  
  
Jensen slid down the bars and sat on the soft carpet.  “New carpet,” he commented as he picked at the red covering.  “Bigger cage, bigger bed.  Same bookcase and desk though.”  
  
“Jensen?”  
  
“We’re alone now.  Completely.  It’s the one room in the house that they don’t have devices in.”  
  
“Jensen, what-“  
  
“Was what he said true?  About the S57?”  
  
Jensen looked up at Jared and he could see the pain in the other man’s eyes.  Jared sat on the edge of the bed and put his elbows on his knees.  He looked down at his clasped hands and let out a shuddered breath.  
  
“Yes, Genevieve was brought into the house before the series even went into production.  I was five and my father said we were going to test her out to see if she lived up to the demands of her programming.  I remember he said the same thing about the S58 a few years later when he brought one home.  I called him Tam.  I don’t want to know if he brought home an S56 to test,“ he said with a bitter laugh.  “Genny raised me.  My father started to drink heavily when he came home from work.  It got worse.  He blamed me for everything just because he wanted someone to take it out on.  Genny would get between us, take the brunt of his anger herself.  The next day I would always come home from school to find a box sitting on my bed; the parts and tools to fix her. I learned quickly because I loved her.”  
  
“That explains why you have such soothing hands when you work,” Jensen said softly.  
  
“When I was sixteen, my father killed her.  He was pissed about the uproar over Sentient Androids and your case was all over the news.  He’d programmed her to obey him but she kept stepping between us when he got abusive.  That night, she’d stepped between us one too many times.  He locked us both in my room for a month.  Her injuries were so bad that she shut down.  I didn’t have any tools to fix her though.  No spare parts.  He locked us in my room because he knew we kept all of that in her room. “  
  
“Jared-“  
  
“I tried anyway.  I broke everything I could use and took it apart and tried to fix her.  I almost had it figured out but…”  
  
“What happened?”  
  
“I was exhausted and I fell asleep.  When I woke the next morning there was a bandage on my arm and she was gone.  He’d come in, drugged me so I wouldn’t wake, and took her away.  He incinerated her.  She could have left, but she died instead.  So when someone says, it’s just an android, it just parts and pieces?  There is nothing in me that can accept that.  She died to protect me.”  
  
“And you spent the last ten years trying to protect others like her.”  
  
Jared looked down at him then.  “Genny was the only mother I ever had.”  
  
“She’d be proud of you, Jared.  You’re a good man.”  
  
“I loved her,” Jared said softly.  “And it got her killed.  I can’t lose you too.”  
  
“Jared,” he didn’t know how to answer that.  He didn’t know how to express what he felt and he certainly didn’t know if he could do it in this cage.  
  
“What a lovely moment,” his Mistress’s voice drifted from across the room.  
  
Jensen hadn’t heard her enter and he wished she hadn’t heard Jared’s declaration but there was nothing he could do about it.  He’d forgotten this dance, forgotten how to hide what he needed to in his cage.  
  
Jensen pressed Jared back against the wall again, used his body to shield him from whatever would come next.  
  
Harris opened a box hidden behind a frame and pressed the button to lower the cage to the ground.  She smiled as she got to the cage door but she showed her left hand to Jensen.   He could see the slight discoloration in her palm and knew it was the trigger, buried just beneath her skin.  “You know how this works darling.  You cooperate and no one gets hurt.”  
  
They’d developed a way to keep Jensen in line the last time he’d been captured.  If she pressed the button it would reset his neural processors.  It wouldn’t damage him but it would take time for his experiences and personality to return.  In essence, it would return him back to his factory defaults for a few minutes.  It would leave him an empty doll with no thought of his own but to please his Mistress and Master.         
  
“Jensen?” Jared asked.  
  
“You’re going to come out of the cage when I unlock it.  Then you’re going to make sure your friend stays in the cage and you’ll lock him in.”  
  
Jensen took a step towards her but Jared grabbed his wrist.  “Don’t.  Jensen, you don’t have to do this.”  
  
“If I don’t she’ll just press the button and set me back to my factory default.  I won’t be myself for a few minutes and she’ll tell me to do it then and I won’t have a choice.  No matter what happens, I’d rather face it as myself than become a nameless robot.”  
  
Jared let him go then and Jensen walked to the front of the cage as his Mistress opened it.  He closed the cage and locked it but he looked up at Jared as he did.  Jared came forward and pressed his hand against Jensen’s.  
  
He didn’t say anything but Jensen could feel his concern.  “I’ll be back, Jared,” He promised.  He didn’t know if he would or not but he had to believe in something and getting back to Jared was a small thing.  It was enough to help him square his shoulders though as he headed towards Harris.  
  
“Come have a seat darling,” his Mistress said softly.  
  
Jensen took a seat on the couch where she’d pointed and she pulled up her black skirt to straddle his thighs.  “Oh, I missed this.  Remember the fun we used to have?  I’ve had other play things to take the place of some of my needs, but there are some things only you could do for me.”  
  
He braced himself because he knew what she wanted then.  He knew what she would do and there was nothing he could do to stop her.  
  
His Mistress brought her hand up and her nails scratched down over his cheek.  She hadn’t drawn blood yet, but he knew she would.  She liked to intimidate him first, let him think about how much this would hurt.  
  
“Are your receptors still just as responsive as before?” she asked.  
  
“Yes,” he admitted.  As much as he’d prefer to ignore her words, he knew she would reset him and get the answer she wanted.  And then she’d wait until he was himself to do this.  She wanted to see him hurt, wanted to see the bird she’d tortured for so many years back in her grasp.  
  
“Baby, we are going to have so much fun.”  
  
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a switchblade.  
  
“What the hell are you doing?” Jared yelled from the cage.  
  
His Mistress’s eyes grew wide, as if she’d forgotten he was there, but then her smile became wicked.  Whatever she had planned, it would hurt Jared to watch and she knew that now.  
  
“Stay still my pet,” she said softly.  “I wouldn’t want to damage anything by accident.”  
  
And he did.  She made a few small cuts across his forehead, down his cheek, and one long one from his cheek to his nose.  Jensen took deep breaths to try to control the pain but tears streamed from his eyes and he gripped the couch tight to keep his hands still.  
  
“Please, Mistress, don’t,” he begged.  He knew what she would do next.  She’d done it before when she was in a cruel mood.  
  
She never listened.  She liked to hear him beg but it never mattered.  
  
She dug her nails into his flesh and ripped it away.  Chunks of skin and flesh pulled away from his metal endoskeleton and Jensen screamed.  He could hear Jared, something hit the bars of the cage, but it was all buried under the waves of pain.  
  
She ripped at his face and he felt her fingers at his throat.  There was a weakness in the physioplast where it connected and she found that spot and dug in.  She ripped until half of his throat was nothing but exposed mechanics.  
  
“Look at me, Jensen,” his Mistress demanded.  
  
He did, though fluid dripped into his eyes from the torn physioplast and ripped flesh.  He wished in that moment, to be human, to black out with the pain, but he wasn’t designed for that.  He was made to take whatever his Mistress and Master wanted to give him.  If she was cruel enough, his sensors might overload but she had always walked a fine balance on that line and never fallen over.  
  
“Don’t blink,” she whispered against his lips.  She kissed him then and he responded as he was supposed to.  
  
“Your heart isn’t in it,” she laughed.  “I wonder why.  I’m not mad though.  Oh no, I’m happy for you Jensen.  And now that you’re home I’ll make sure you and Jared have all the proper guidance you need.  Imagine the things he will do to you at my command,” she said with a laugh.  “Imagine what I’ll have you to do him in that cage, on that bed, while Jeff and I watch.”  He felt panic rise at her words, but then she brought her knife up again and this time she worked it under his right eye.  The prosthetic flesh came out and Jensen felt his sensors start to overload.  It wasn’t supposed to happen but the people who’d designed him hadn’t planned for the sort of sadism that his Mistress was capable of.  Not when they’d never planned them to have emotions.  
  
He wished it would happen, that he would black out as he had with the Taser but the pain passed, as it always did, to the bearable extreme.  It didn’t stop the whimpered pleas he gave his Mistress or the tears that feel from his one good eye.  Without the flesh and prosthetics, he didn’t have tears for the other.  
  
His Mistress sat up then and Jensen watched her as she approached the cage.  He stood, unsure of what she would do and what he could do to stop her, but she looked at Jared and then back at Jensen with the same cruel smile he’d always known from her.  
  
“He looks so human, acts so much like us, but underneath, he’s just a machine.  Do you really think you could love something like that?  Do you really think he could love anyone?”  
  
She smiled as she moved back to Jensen.  When she was beside him she whispered in his ear, “Do you really think he would love you without your pretty face?  If you were stripped clean of this flesh, would he still want to touch you?”  
  
She stepped back to face him again.  “Back in your cage.”  
  
He went but she stopped and pointed to a box.  He took it and entered the cage when she opened it.  He stepped through the door and didn’t look back at her as she closed it and locked them in.  
  
The cage was lifted back off the ground and Jensen finally dumped the box on the bed and sat down at the end.  
  
“Do your best to clean him up, will you?” His Mistress said to Jared.  “He’s only good for me if he’s pretty and you’re only good for me if he is.”  
  
Jared moved in front of Jensen but he had his face to Jensen’s Mistress.  “Why are you doing this?”  
  
She smiled again and Jensen shivered.  “I wonder, how many times can you patch him up, Jared?  How many times can I rip into him before you fail, the way you did your Genny?”  
  
She left the room and Jensen collapsed back on the bed.  He curled into himself and did the only thing he could to survive that moment.  He went deep into his neural processor and followed his pathways into the only oblivion he could allow himself.  


 

  
  
  
**  
  
Jensen woke when the cage was lowered again.  He nearly screamed at the pain as he sat up but he swallowed it back.  Two guards watched them and a third lowered the cage.  “Morgan said to let you into the garden.  He said to tell you, if one of you attack us or try to get free, we’ll shoot the other.”  
  
Jensen was afraid to look at Jared, but when the cage stopped, Jared was there with a hand under his arm to help him up.  They didn’t talk as the men marched them across the room and out into the hall.  
  
Dark wood and cream walls were decorated lavishly but still tasteful.  At the end was a double door and they were herded towards it.  They stepped out into the open air and the guards led them towards a trellis of roses.  An arched walkway spilled past and created a tunnel of blossoming flowers.  Hidden three feet inside the tunnel was a gate.  Jensen and Jared were pushed through the gate.  
  
“Morgan said he’d fetch you when it gets dark.”  
  
They left them alone and Jensen took in their solace.  Here, at least, there were no eyes on them.  Jensen had never been hurt outside of the confines of the bedroom and he felt a sense of relief at being outside.  Morgan had created the gated tunnel himself, had tended the roses and flowers until Jensen’s outside cage felt more like a beautiful garden.  It was still a cage but it was another thing Morgan had given him to help him survive.  Jensen had spent hours every day in this escape.  
  
“I’m sorry I didn’t try to help you yet,” Jared said softly.  Jensen turned to look at him and hated the pain he saw in the other man’s eyes.  “After what she did, and you shut down, I was afraid I’d hurt you worse by trying.”  
  
Jensen let out a deep breath.  “It’s okay Jared.  My Master will give you time to fix me later.”  
  
“Heal you.”  
  
Jensen looked up at the admonition and realized what he’d said.  He felt his one eye watering again but he bit it back.  “Yeah.  Sorry.  This place is getting to me already and I’ve barely been awake.”  
  
“What she did-“  
  
“Was nothing I can’t recover from,” Jensen stopped Jared before he could go any further.  “Maybe someday I’ll be able to talk about this, but not now.  Not when I’m barely holding myself together.  What she said … about us.”  
  
Jensen stopped because Jared was suddenly in his space and as Jensen looked up, Jared brought his hand up and cupped Jensen’s good cheek in his hand.  He pressed a kiss to Jensen’s lips and didn’t stop until a sob escaped Jensen’s lips.  
  
“If she thought I didn’t know what you looked like on the inside then she’s an idiot.  You might have been design to be impossibly gorgeous, but it was never the packaging that kept me wanting more from you.  For you.”  
  
His other hand came up and he gently touched the metal endoskeleton that showed through on Jensen’s right cheek.  “I don’t care what she thinks she’s doing.  We will do what we have to.  We will survive this, because I will be damned if I don’t find a way to get you free again.  Jensen, no matter what she makes you do, I know who you really are.”  
  
Jared kissed him again and Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist and pulled him closer.  He had no idea why Jared wanted what he did from Jensen.  He was just a used up sex toy that had grown a soul.  Jensen wanted to give him whatever he wanted though.  One night in Jared’s arms wasn’t enough.  
  
He pulled away at the sound of shouting.  It was quickly followed by gun fire and Jensen pushed Jensen to the ground.  They were covered from sight in the garden but that didn’t mean a stray bullet couldn’t hit them.  
  
And if someone had come into Morgan’s house with force, it wasn’t someone they wanted to be found by.  The fighting was contained to the house but when the quiet settled, Jensen became agitated.  If Morgan was able, he’d have checked on Jensen already.  
  
“Jensen?” Jared whispered his name.  
  
“I don’t know, Jared.”  There were a lot of things Jared could have been asking at that moment, but the answer was the same to all of them.  
  
Jensen heard the back door open and he tensed.  
  
“Jared!”  
  
“Jim?” Jared called out.  
  
“Boy?  Where the hell are you?  We’ve got the house under control.  You can come out now.”  
  
“There’s a gate by the rose trellis.  You need to find the key,” Jared answered the cop.  
  
Jensen couldn’t relax.  Until Jensen could see the others, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was some trick.  He let Jared lead him to the trellis though and then an older man was on the other side and Jared ran ahead.  
  
“Jim, how did you find us?”  
  
“Remember that tracker I gave you when you first got into all this?”  
  
“I thought it was disabled.”  
  
“It was.  I turned it back on.  As tempting as it was before, I was afraid someone might be passing information along to Morgan so I left it be.  You didn’t call me back after I told you to run so I figured it was time to check in on you myself.”  
  
An officer came forward with a set of keys and Jim found the right one and opened the gate.  Jared began to walk forward but Jensen grabbed him and pushed him behind him.  
  
“Jensen-“  
  
“No,” he said quietly.  “Not until I know for sure.”  
  
Jim seemed to understand what he was upset about.  “It’s good to meet you, Jensen,” the man said with a nod.  “I’ve got some of my men with me, but it’s mostly SWAT and Feds.  Morgan is in custody but Harris was killed in the fight.”  
  
Jensen’s knees buckled at the words.  “Jensen?”  
  
Jensen looked up at Jim.  “Was Morgan hurt?”  
  
“No.  He was in his office unarmed.  When they found him, he gave up without a fight.  Just said he needed to hire better guns next time.”  
  
Jensen let out a deep breath and Jim misunderstood.  “Don’t worry, son.  He won’t be able to hurt anyone again.”  
  
Jensen nodded because he couldn’t explain his relief that Morgan wasn’t injured.  So much for being past that.  It wasn’t what it had once been though and he was grateful when he felt Jared kneel in front of him.  
  
“Jensen, let’s get out of here.”  
  
  
**  
  
They were taken to the nearest FBI field office.  Jim didn’t trust the local LEOs and the FBI were happy enough to comply.  They’d tried for years to make a case against Morgan and Harris but every time they had something, a witness died or evidence went missing.  When they’d kidnaped Jared though, they gave the FBI the ability to search the house and there was an abundance of incriminating evidence to keep Morgan in jail for a lifetime.  
  
Jared and Jensen were separated to tell their stories.  Jensen refused to talk about it but they found a cable connector and Jensen plugged into their system long enough to upload his audio and visual files that could be used against Morgan.   It hurt to do it, but Jensen knew he couldn’t trust himself when it came to Morgan.  He gave the FBI what he had and let them decide what to do with it.  
  
He was done quickly and Jim came to speak to him when the FBI was done.  He had three bags with him.  The bags that had been left behind in the truck.  
  
“Thought you might want these back,” Jim said as he settled the bags in the chair next to Jensen.  He nodded to Jensen’s face.  “You need a medic?”  
  
Jensen smiled because sometimes, people understood without him saying it.  “No.  I’ll get it taken care of.  I just want to get out of here.  Am I free to go?”  
  
Jim nodded.  “Yeah, you are.  What about Jared?”  
  
“What about him?”  
  
“He’ll be here a while longer.  You gonna leave without saying good bye?”  
  
Jensen shook his head.  “I’m not saying good bye.”  
  
He left the office and stood out in the sun before he looked back.  He didn’t know if Jared would understand, but he hoped.  
  
He couldn’t be there anymore, so close to the cage he’d been kept in most of his life.   He pushed at his hip hard enough to bruise and found the small button that opened a compartment just above the waistline of his jeans.  It was made to keep his warranty paperwork but Jensen had gotten rid of that years ago.  Instead, he took out the ID and bank card he’d kept there since he’d first been freed, the ones with his real name on them.  
  
He hailed a cab and drove away from the life he never wanted to live.

 

**  
  
Jensen bought himself a new truck.  He went back to the RV lot and bought the one he’d stolen after explaining the situation to the owner.  Jensen paid more to keep it quiet than he did for the trailer itself but he couldn’t blame the man for wanting to call the cops instead of settle.  
  
He stopped at the diner Jared had liked and ate lunch before he went to the grocery store.  It was almost dark by the time he pulled into the camping site.  
  
The trailer had been searched by someone but nothing had been taken.  Jensen put away his groceries and set his bags on the bed.  Then he went to settings things right in the trailer.  He made sure everything was plugged back into the site properly and then went in and took a long hot shower.  
  
Water stung at the exposed edges of the physioplast and Jensen thought he should probably try to heal it himself but he didn’t have the energy to do that yet.  Instead, he stepped out of the shower and didn’t even bother to dry off.  He stepped into the room, pushed the bags off the bed, and slept.  
  
  
**  
  
Jensen didn’t get out of bed for two days.  He might not need to sleep as much as a human did, but his mind wouldn’t shut down and everything that had happened in the past ten years kept backtracking into his thoughts.  His brain tried to explain everything away, but it had never been designed to deal with emotional input.  Sometimes Jensen felt like a toddler, learning not to cry over spilled milk, but he knew this was so much more than that.  
  
He didn’t force himself out of bed until the third day.  He showered and fixed himself a sandwich when his stomach rumbled and reminded him that he did actually need to eat to keep himself performing at optimal levels.  
  
He walked out along the trails he’d walked with Jared and tried to focus on the time they’d had together.  He spent far too much time with his memories of their last night in the trailer but he didn’t think Jared would blame him for that.  
  
He had no idea what to do with his life now.  He’d spent so much time on the run that he’d never thought of what to do if he ever managed to get away.  Other than some specific things – a home of his own, someone that he could love – he’d never thought about the rest.  Or he’d been too afraid to.  
  
Jensen knew how to hide.  He knew how to run.  He was a good thief and he could hotwire cars.  He could flirt his way in and out of just about any situation.  He knew how to read people, knew how to be an amazing lover by observing their reactions.  He had no idea what to do with his skills, other than the obvious.  
  
Over the years he’d taken all sorts of work to get by.  From manual labor to sales to short order cook, he’d taken whatever he could.  Now he had a life to figure out and no way to start.  Again, he felt like a human child.  So much of what he should know how to do, he was incapable of.  Humans went to school and learned and became what they wanted.  But how did they decide what they wanted?  At his core, Jensen was made to make people happy.  He didn’t know how to make himself happy.  It was never a consideration in his design model.  
  
What was it Jared had said?  “ _They didn’t design your model to age well but you look better now than you did off the factory line”_  
  
“Well, they didn’t design me to have emotions either, Jared, but I’ve managed them.  What else do you think I can figure out that were outside of my maker’s intentions?”  he spoke to himself but he could hear Jared as clearly as if he were there, telling Jensen to take care of himself and to do what he needed to do.  
  
It was almost a week before it finally happened.  Jensen stepped out of the shower and heard something heavy drop in the bedroom.  He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom and threw open the bedroom door.  
  
“Jared?”  
  
Jared smiled at him, though he looked a little worse for wear.  Jensen could see the dark lines under his eyes and there was something haunted in the way he looked at Jensen.  Before he could say anything else, Jared had crossed the room had his arms around Jensen.  
  
“Jensen, I wasn’t sure you’d be here,” he whispered against Jensen’s ear.  
  
“Where else would I go?” Jensen asked.  He kept hold of Jared as he backed them up to the bed.  He eased them both down onto it.  He stripped Jared of his clothes thought Jared struggled at first when he thought Jensen was going to walk out of arms reach.  
  
When they were undressed Jensen pulled Jared under the blankets with him.  He didn’t know what had happened to Jared but he knew he needed sleep and that at least he could do for him.  At least, like this, Jensen felt he could help.  
  
Jared shuddered against him when he settled with his head over Jensen’s heart.  “You know, all three series that became sentient have their hearts in the same place as a human?  None of the others do.  I used to think my father did it because he wanted you to be sentient.”  
  
“I don’t think that was the rationale behind it,” Jensen said softly as he ran a hand up and down Jared’s back.  
  
“No, but I was a child.”  
  
“What happened to you Jared?”  
  
He let out a small laugh but it was tinged with hysteria.  “I just can’t sleep.  I keep …  I see her in my dreams.  And then she becomes you and you’re dead and I can’t help you because all I have are the keys to the truck and the reset trigger.”  
  
“Jesus, Jared.  I’m okay.  I’m right here.  Now let me take care of you and go to sleep.”  
  
“Programming or you really want to?” Jared asked bitterly.  It hurt Jensen to hear Jared’s tone and he couldn’t help that his honest answer was just as bitter.  
  
“Both.”  
  
  
**  
  
Jensen woke to the feel of Jared’s fingers against his exposed metal.  
  
“I need to fix this,” Jared said quietly.  
  
“I know.”  
  
They didn’t say anything else.  Jared crawled out of bed and Jensen saw the box of parts that must have been the bump he’d heard the night before.  Jensen sat up in bed and watched as Jared got the right parts and tools out.  
  
“I need you to turn off your pain receptors.  The deep ones,” he said sadly.  
  
Jensen knew why he was worried.  Jensen couldn’t turn them all off like some models could and the repairs that Jared needed to make would be painful.  
  
“Alcohol?” Jared asked.  
  
“I’d rather not today.”  
  
Jared didn’t look happy about it but he didn’t force anything on Jensen either.  Instead, he began the delicate work of repairing Jensen’s throat.  Jensen had to lie on the floor before it was over but the floor of the trailer was still nicer than the expensive bed that had hung from a ceiling.  
  
“Ok, now keep your eyes closed,” Jared said as he moved on to work on the flesh of Jensen’s face.  It hurt more than Jensen wanted to admit.  The physioplast and organic flesh were self-sealing but the edges had sealed when Jensen didn’t repair them quickly enough.  Jared had to sear the edges to allow the self-healing process to start.  His throat had hurt, but it was nothing compared to the burn on his face.  
  
Jensen grit his teeth through most of it, ripped a hole in the carpet with his fingers, and nearly fried his sensors.  Again.  
  
He blacked out completely when Jared had to replace his eye.  
  
When he woke, Jared helped him back to the bed and he feel into deep sleep again.  
  
  
**  
  
He woke the next morning with Jared in his arms.  He could feel Jared’s hands as they ran over his chest.  It was so peaceful Jensen didn’t want to wake just yet.  He needed to see Jared though so he opened his eyes.  It took a moment for the scene to clear up as his new eye adjusted but when his vision cleared Jared smiled down at him.  
  
“Hey,” Jared said softly.  
  
Jensen smiled back at him.  “Hey.  You’re looking better.”  
  
Jared sighed.  “Just needed to get some sleep.  Needed to know that you were okay.”  
  
“I am,” Jensen said.  “Mostly.  I still … I don’t know what to do with myself now, but I’m okay.  I will be.”  
  
“And us?” Jared asked.  
  
Jensen’s smile grew.  “Better than okay,” he said as he brought Jared’s head down to his and kissed him slowly.  
  
Jared deepened the kiss and this was all Jensen needed.  He didn’t know if he could have this forever but there was nothing to stand in his way now.  No fear of Morgan or Harris to stop him from giving them a chance.  
  
When Jared’s hands moved slowly down his body, Jensen moaned against his lips.  Jared’s hand gripped his cock and Jensen arched up into him.  
  
“Gonna make you feel so good, Jensen,” Jared whispered against his ear.  “Make you want me and only me.”  
  
Jensen’s laugh was breathless as Jared moved his hand faster.  “Only want you, Jared,” he admitted.  “Please, I need you.”  
  
“What do you need, Jensen?” Jared’s hand slowed and Jensen looked into Jared’s eyes.  
  
“I need you inside me,” he begged.  “I need to know I’m yours and you’re mine.  I choose this. I choose you.”  
  
Jared surged against his lips and Jensen pulled him over top of him.  He wanted to feel the weight of Jared over him, holding him down, grounding him.  
  
Jared kissed him until he was breathless and then he slid down Jensen’s body.  Jensen sat up on his elbows as he watched Jared take his cock into his mouth.  He moaned at the sight as much as the feeling.  Jensen felt the press of Jared’s fingers at his entrance and he relaxed into the feel of it.  
  
“Jensen, I don’t have anything-“  
  
“I’m a masochist Jared, a little pain won’t hurt me,” he reminded him.  It was the first time he’d ever been grateful that he had that specific switch flipped but when Jared pressed two fingers into him he damn near came from the sensation.  
  
“Fuck, Jared, now, please,” he begged.  
  
Jared smiled up at Jensen, but he wrapped his lips round Jensen again and sucked him down as he continued to open Jensen up.  He wanted to come but he refused to give in to the urge.  Jared continued to pump his fingers in and out until a third and fourth were added.  Jensen wanted to scream because he wasn’t going to be able to control himself if Jared kept up his ministrations but then Jared pulled his fingers away.  He didn’t ask Jensen if he was ready which was a good thing because Jensen might have punched him on principle.  
  
Jared lined himself up and thrust slow and sure into Jensen’s body.  He keened at the feel of Jared inside him, thick and heavy and god Jensen needed to taste him when this was all over.  Jared let out a shaky breath when he was buried in Jensen.  He closed his eyes and Jensen reached up to touch his face.  Jared opened his eyes and lowered himself to Jensen.  
  
His kiss was slow and lazy and so unlike what Jensen had expected.  He knew though, this wasn’t a quick fuck to get off.  This wasn’t him being used by someone.  This was why people called it making love.  
  
Jensen ran his hands over Jared’s back then, rolled his hips just enough to make Jared groan.  Jensen loved the sound of it so he moved again.  
  
“Jensen,” Jared whispered.  
  
“Yours,” Jensen said as he kissed Jared.  
  
“Always. Gonna take care of you Jensen.  Never let you forget how much I love you,” Jared answered.  
  
He pulled his hips back slowly and his thrust in was just as torturously slow.  “Fuck, Jared.”  
  
Jared laughed as he bent to kiss Jensen again.  They made love for hours and Jared only stopped touching Jensen when he demanded they get up to eat.  Jensen would have been all too happy to skip some meals but he needed to take care of Jared.  
  
That night, when they lie in bed, sleep about to take them, Jared finally began to talk.  “So, what do you plan to do now?”  
  
Jensen closed his eyes and squirmed back at little more into Jared’s body behind him.  Jared’s arms tightened around his waist and Jensen couldn’t help but smile.  “I don’t know.  I told you before, a little house somewhere on the beach.  I have money from the lawsuit.  It’s enough to get my house and keep me going until I figure things out.”  
  
“A beach, huh?  California?”  
  
Jensen nodded.  “I lived there for a while.  Hiding.  It was in the beginning when I didn’t know better.  Just a sleepy little town no one has ever heard of before, but it was almost like a home to me.”  
  
“Sounds nice.  Cosy.”  
  
“Yeah. Perfect for two.”  
  
“Two dogs?”  
  
“Two people.”  
  
“Oh.  You know, I have two dogs.”  Jensen laughed at the image of Jared and his dogs and wondered if maybe there was room in his dream house for all of them.  
  
  
**  
  
Jared left before Jensen woke the next morning.  There was a note at his bedside and Jared read it quickly to assure himself that Jared was alright.  Jensen hadn’t expected Jared to leave but he wasn’t surprised by it either.  Neither of them was in a good place and as much as Jensen loved Jared, he wasn’t able to say it yet.  
  
He needed to get his life in order and figure out what to do with it before he could ask Jared to stick around.  
  
He got up and got in the shower then and when he was done he looked in the mirror for the first time since she’d mangled his face.  He looked at himself in the mirror and there wasn’t even a scar to tell where he’d been ripped open.  It was Jared’s skill – Jensen knew that.  He didn’t care if he was scarred but it was nice to look in the mirror and see his face staring back at him.  
  
He was metal underneath, but he didn’t think he was any different from a human in that.  Would they want to look at their skull instead of the face they knew?  It may be vanity, but he wasn’t alone in it and it wasn’t a Sentient Android trait either.  
  
He cleaned himself up and got dressed, then ate the breakfast Jared had left for him in the fridge.  He cleaned up the mess he’d made, cleaned up the trailer entirely, before he went out and disconnected it from the site.  He hooked the trailer back up to the truck and then drove away.  He didn’t need to hide anymore.  He wasn’t sure where he was headed, but he would find a way to make himself the sort of person that was worthy of someone’s love.  
  
**  
  
Jensen sat in a corner booth of the coffee shop.  There were two Starbucks within a block but this place had more of a homey feel and Jensen liked that it was busy but never so full he couldn’t find a seat.  
  
A new program started on the television on the wall across from him and Jensen watched as a special on the 10 th anniversary of the Sentient Android Rights Movement began.  Newscasters and activists talked about the importance of the android who first came forward and sued for his freedom.  They spoke of his bravery and courage in the face of adversity.  They talked about his kidnapping and captivity and the case against his former Master.  They wished him luck, wherever he was and Jensen was about to ask the woman behind the counter to turn the station when Jared’s face come on the screen next to a newscaster.      
  
“Ladies and gentleman, I am sitting next to the reclusive Jared Padalecki, CEO of Rockbell Robotics.  You don’t do public appearances often.  Why are you coming out today?”  
  
“Ten years ago today, the first sentient android was declared a free man by the courts.  It started a wake of law suits and inquiries until every S56, S57, S58 , and S59 was freed.  To many people, the fight ended there but the reality is that Sentient Androids are still fighting for their rights and we need to support them.”  
  
“You think things should have been done differently?”  
  
“The thing people need to remember is that when Rockbell Robotics began to make specialized androids, there was no plan to make a sentient being.  Our founder, my grandfather, was a roboticist who saw a market and wanted to fill it.  When the S series came along, no one had any idea this would happen.  Who could have believed that something we made with a metal body and a computer for a brain could develop emotions?  No one could have predicted that.” Jared told the camera.  
  
“And what is the role of Rockbell Robotics in the rights movement?” the newscaster asked.  
  
“I’m afraid to say in my father’s time, it wasn’t much.  As a scientist he didn’t believe that androids could become sentient.  No matter how many times we have proven its truth.  When the S56, S57, S58, and S59 were deemed sentient and could no longer be property, Rockbell donated money to charities to help their cause but it wasn’t enough.  I’m very proud of the involvement we’ve had since I took over the company.”  
  
So.  That was why Jared could do what he wanted to do.  It made sense now.  Knowing Jared as he did, it made sense that his lover had thrown himself into the thick of things with the people he thought needed him the most.  
  
“And now, I’m happy to let everyone know that we are working with SA Advocates to open shelters across the country for any Sentient Android who is abused or scared or just needs help trying to turn their life around.  There will be free housing, free counseling, free legal advice, and free help to any Sentient Android who needs healing.”  
  
“Healing?” The newscaster asked.  
  
“You fix a machine, Ms. Martin,” Jared answered the newscaster.  “You heal a person.  What has happened in our lifetime is a miracle and I urge all of you to be more aware of what’s happening in the world.  Sentient Androids are just the latest in a line of civil movements that have come about because we try to put down what is different.  The truth is, we’re all a little different but we’re all a little the same too.  We can choose to embrace our differences and learn to take strength from them, or we can choose to hurt others whose only crime is to be different than us.  I urge you all to embrace this.”  
  
“You seem very genuine, Mr. Padalecki.  Does this come from your work with Sentient Androids?”  
  
Jared smiled down at his hands.  “I was raised by a Sentient Android.  I loved her and she died protecting me.  Before the Sentient Android had begun, I already knew they could feel.  My involvement in the movement began because of her.  Now, there are more reasons.”  
  
“Mr. Padalecki?”  
  
“I’ve spent the last three years in the field, meeting with Sentient Androids who needed our help.  While I was doing that, I met someone.  Someone intelligent and charming, jaded by the system but willing to risk his life to help a person he barely knew.  He changed my life and I am very much in love with him.”  
  
“An advocate from the Sentient Android movement?” She asked.  
  
Jensen could see she was thrilled about the personal tone the interview had taken.  Once Jensen was free he’d done some research into Jared but he hadn’t been able to find much. Jared was very much the recluse she claimed he was.  
  
“No, a Sentient Android.  We had some … adventures together … and we grew close.  He’s struggled too much just to be free.  I’ve never wanted anyone to feel the kind of fear he lived in but having shared a bit of his world, I know that my role in the rights movement is just as important now as when I first began.  We are all sentient beings.  As Yoda said, ‘Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.’  It is our spirits that matter, not what we are made of.  So be kind to others.  It’s the least we can give of ourselves and what matters the most in the end.”  
  
The program turned to others then and Jensen closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.  
  
“That was an interesting bit there.”  
  
Jensen opened his eyes to see Detective Jim Beaver slide into the booth opposite him.  
  
“Detective.”  
  
Jim smiled as the girl behind the counter brought over his coffee.  Jensen didn’t say anything as Jim took a drink.  
  
“If nothing else, I’m glad to have met you just for the coffee,” Jim said with a smile.  
  
Jensen let out a short laugh.  “I am partial to it.”  
  
“You still determined to do this?” Jim asked.  
  
Jensen nodded.  
  
“Even after what he just said on national television?”  
  
“Why would that change anything?”  
  
“Jared being in love with you doesn’t change anything?”  
  
Jensen shook his head.  “Do you think I needed an evening broadcast to know how Jared felt?  I’m an android, not a rock, and Jared wears his heart on his sleeve.”  
  
Jim smiled fondly.  “That he does.  Knew you were gonna be trouble as soon as he started to talk about you.”  
  
“Not my fault.  I kicked him out of my apartment the first time we met.  Don’t know why he came back.”  
  
“Yeah you do.”  
  
“Yeah, I do now.  Back then, I had no clue.”  
  
“Alright, so here is what I have.  It’s not a lot but I think with your skill set you should be able to handle it.”  
  
Jensen took the file Jim handed him and opened it up.  
  
It was time to get to work.  
  
**  
  
Jensen took a deep breath of the ocean breeze as he closed the mailbox and walked back to the house.  It was almost time for sunset and Jensen was glad he’d made it home for it.  It wasn’t a lot, but there was something decadent about being able to enjoy the sunset.  There was no need to look over his shoulder, no need to worry about who might see him.  It was just a chance to relax and unwind.  It might be a bit lonely but Jensen had grown used to that in the last six months.  
  
He’d bought the house four months ago with money from his first trial with Morgan and Harris.  In the last trial, the courts had awarded Jensen more money, including the house he’d been held captive in.  He’d donated it to SA Advocates as a shelter for Sentient Androids.  Last he’d heard they’d turned the mansion upside down.  The only room that was untouched was his own.  The gilded cage still hung from the ceiling and videos documented Jensen’s life there.  He’d talked to the advocates a long time before he allowed it, but they used the room as a way to show people just what some of them went through.  Jensen’s abuse was well documented but he hadn’t been the only one.  It was a way to gain support for people who didn’t know, and at times a way for others to know they weren’t alone in their struggles.  
  
The house he had now was nothing like the opulent halls of the Morgan house.  It was a moderately sized two bedroom house.  He’d made an office in one room after he’d started to make some headway with his newly established business.  He might have to get a real office someday but so far it worked out that he could do most of his business at the coffee shop in the small town.  Jim wasn’t adverse to the drive every few days and if something came up there was always email and phone calls.  
  
Jensen had pulled the carpets up when he bought the place because they reminded him of his cage so the place gleamed with honey colored wood.  The walls were sage green and Jensen still had a lot of work to do before it was done.  He’d bought a large screen television for the living room and a couch and chair that reminded him of the RV.  He had basic furniture for most of the rooms.  Although, it was all very close to the furniture in the RV if he thought about it.  He tried hard not to.  
  
It was a start.  There were a few things that made it home.  Things that Jensen had started to pick up as he traveled.  There was a painting Jensen had picked up at an art festival of a forest clearing that reminded him of one of the hiking spots Jared had liked.  
  
There was a bookshelf in the sitting room with all Jensen’s favorite books, along with some he’d picked up just for the hell of it.  
Jensen walked past the sitting room and down the hall to drop the mail in the office.  One was a letter from Morgan.  He’d written Jensen a letter a week since he’d been incarcerated.  Jensen’s therapist asked him why he read them but he wasn’t ready to answer her yet.  He wanted to burn them when they came, but he never did.  This one would sit on his desk for a few days before curiosity burned deep enough that Jensen would cave and open it.  Morgan would talk about life in prison and how much he hated it.  He would talk about his growing understanding of what he’d done to Jensen and how wrong it was.  He never mentioned his other crimes, but  
Jensen didn’t think Morgan really did understand.  If he did, he’d never make Jensen relive it with his written word every week.  
  
The other letter was a paycheck from the police department.  Jim Beaver had gotten him hired as a contract P.I.  With the Sentient Android Rights Movement celebrating its anniversary, things had picked up again and there were far more people that wanted to find the missing someone in their life.  Jared’s public announcement of his feelings for Jensen had given rise to slew of celebrities who took up the cause and admitted their own involvement with Sentient Androids.  
  
Being a Sentient Android, the people who really were looking for a loved one felt he would handle it with discretion and the care that they needed.  Jensen felt useful and he had the chance to pay Jim back for the way he’d come to Jared’s rescue when they’d been captured.  
  
Jim and Jensen never talked about Jared, but he was always there in their conversations.  Jensen sighed as he walked out of the office and towards the back of the house.  He opened the sliding door out back and looked out over the ocean.  The deck was fairly large with a stair to the left that led to a side yard.  Jensen wanted his privacy and he’d bought the abandoned lot next door.  It was a wild yard but after the cultivated gardens of Morgan’s house, Jensen wanted to let it grow.  He wasn’t sure what he’d do yet.  There was a nice long stretch that would make a great kennel if he ever got a dog or two.  At the bottom of the steps was a gate that led to the beach.  
  
Jensen chose to stay on the deck tonight and he let the salty air fill his nostrils.  He closed his eyes and let go of the stress of the day.  
  
“That’s quite a view.”  
  
Jensen stilled.  
  
He felt a body behind him, felt arms wrapped around his waist to pull him back and Jensen melted into the man behind him.  
  
“I like the house,” Jared whispered in his ear.  
  
“Yeah?” Jensen asked.  
  
“Like the ocean,” Jared said next.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Mostly,” Jared said as he turned Jensen around in his arms, “I just like you.”  
  
“Prove it,” Jensen said.  
  
Jared laughed but he kissed Jensen even as he did.  
  
Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist and held on tightly.  It’s been more than seven months since he’d seen Jared.  There was no communication between them, no letters or phone calls.  Jensen lived in the trailer until he’d bought the house and then he’d driven it to Jared’s house, left the keys on Jared’s doorstep, and walked away.  A month later, he’d returned to slip an envelope under Jared’s door.  No note again, but a key and an address.  Jared had never used it until now.  
  
“Why now?” Jensen pulled away to ask.  He looked up at Jared and as much as he wanted to drown in the other man, he needed to know.  
  
“You said … you chose me once.  It mattered that it was your choice and not your programming.  That mattered to me too.  When this was all done, when I was released from the police I was consumed with you.  And then I didn’t know if it was my choice or not.  I didn’t know if these horrible things had conditioned me so that I had no choice but to love you.  When I found you in the trailer, I wanted to believe that I loved you.  When I woke the next morning, I knew I had to go to be sure.  I had to go so we could both be sure.”  
  
“Jared-“  
  
“And you left the trailer to me and I knew you had moved on so I went to see Jim and he told me what you’d been up to.  I was so damn proud of you Jensen, and I wanted to tell you but I had to know it was for the right reasons.  Then you sent me the keys to the house and I knew you had made your choice again.  It was time for me to make mine.  And I did, but I’m the CEO of a company and somehow my announcement about the Sentient Android Rights Movement sort of made me a figurehead so I had to take time to find a way to move my responsibilities to California or to delegate them to someone else.  So I made my choice, but it just took a little time to make it happen.”  
  
“You chose me.”  
  
“I did.  I do.  I always will.  I love you Jensen.”  
  
Jensen cupped Jared’s cheek in his hand and smiled.  “I know.  I saw the TV special.  Really?  Yoda quotes on live TV?”  
  
“I was on live TV and I was talking about you and suddenly all I could think about was that night in thr trailer.  Besides, Yoda rocks and you know it,” Jared said with a smile.  
  
“I love you too.”  
  
Jared’s smile faded but it was a look of awe that overtook his features.  Jared kissed him then and it was Jensen that laughed into it then.  They had a long way to go before they were both okay, but they were together now and Jensen had everything he’d ever dreamed of.  
  
Jared broke the kiss again and Jensen moaned at the loss.  “You do have room for dogs right, because I have two and I’m not leaving them behind.”  
  
Jensen pointed to the stairs at the end of the patio and Jared’s face lit up.  “I haven’t done anything with the yard yet,” Jensen said.  “I thought you might help me with it.  If you thought this was worth a try.”  
  
“Do or do not.  There is no try,” Jared teased.  
  
Jensen kissed Jared to shut him up.  It would be trial and error.  They’d have to learn what it was like to live with one another without the threat that had bound them together before.  They’d have to compromise and they’d fight and they’d learn to make up afterwards.  Jensen was willing to try though because as much as he feared a broken heart, he wanted Jared in his life.  Jared was right.  Jensen chose him.  They chose each other.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
